You Should Get On That Plane
by neonntiger2
Summary: Maddy should have gotten on that plane. She should have.
1. Chapter 1

**One **

"You should get on that plane," Archer says. He gives Maddy's small wrist a squeeze.

"So should you," she answers in a low voice.

The salty taste of her own sweat on her lips makes her throat dry when she licks them and she swallows hard. Archer sees the tendons in her neck tense and he releases her wrist without breaking his gaze on her. Maddy pops the cap off the lens of her camera and brings it up to her eye. She blinks in a feeble attempt to send the tears boiling behind her eyes back from where they came, but her sight fogs regardless and a sharp sting pierces the insides of her nostrils. She lowers the camera and her eyes follow. She can't look at his face without a lump in her throat.

Archer tilts his head slightly sideways. He doesn't know how to respond to Maddy being emotional. This is not a problem he has been confronted with before; from people he has dealt with throughout his life and certainly not from Maddy. The features of her face that he is so used to seeing tinged with optimism are tired and wet and he has an inkling of how he is the root of these changes. Her entire demeanor seems shrunken as she stands with trembling shoulders before him. The guilt that swells in his chest makes his feet tingle and he has to physically stop himself from turning and leaning to avoid the feeling from developing further. He shifts his weight from one leg to the other before shoving his hands into his pockets.

"In another life maybe," he tells her quietly.

"Sure," she scoffs knowingly. She clears her throat. "In another life."

"I'm really glad I met you, Maddy," he says quickly.

"I'm glad I met you too."

She blinks again and brings the camera back up to her eye. The shutter releases. Danny Archer has been captured on film forever. He lives as a still in her camera now. She puts the cap back on her lens and draws in a slow, shaky inhale. She reaches into the pocket near her knee and pulls out a crisp white business card.

"I'm used to men chasing after me, but I'm willing to make an exception this time."

Archer takes the card between two fingers and looks it over. He tucks it into his breast pocket.

"Home phone, cell phone, business phone," she says to him.

He cracks a half-smile. "Get on that plane, Miss Bowen."

Maddy forces herself to bring her eyes up to Archer's face. She looks at him now as he is, as a person in front of her and not as a subject through her lens. She wants to commit him to her own memory now. Maddy wants to remember Archer as a man, not as a photograph. She blinks slowly and Archer can't help but wonder if there is a shutter going off behind her eyes, if her brain is just a giant roll of film stamping scenes and people into it with every blink and swallow. When she opens her eyes again, Archer is still there, still looking at her with his big blue eyes and furrowed eyebrows and chapped lips.

Archer cocks his head towards the plane and grunts something reminiscent of a pointing gesture. Maddy responds with a nod as she looks over at the aircraft. She draws in a steady inhale. His sweaty, dirty scent colors the image of him that she has in her mind. She licks her bottom lip and turns to walk towards the plane. She takes only a few steps before looking over her shoulder. She's surprised that Archer is looking at her.

"Are you going to call me?"

"As soon as I get to a phone, ja," he nods with a smirk.

"Yeah, right," she says dryly.

Maddy looks forward and continues towards the plane. She raises her hand to wave to Archer and he nods to her. He sees now as she walks away from him that she isn't built for danger and war. He feels like he could crush her skull with one hand if he wanted to and the idea of her jetting off to another war zone to try and change the outcome makes his blood boil. She has no business putting herself in harm's path the way she's made a career of it.

Archer's eyes don't leave her frame as she walks off. He follows her until her small frame disappears into the crowd of people congregated by the front of the plane waiting to board. He huffs audibly and marches off to go find Solomon. Knowing Maddy is on her way out of Africa gives him the second wind he needs to go and find the diamond he's been dreaming of for the past few days.

He finds Solomon where he left him — sitting on a bench in the middle of the army airport. He nudges the black man as he walks by him and Solomon rises and follows after Archer.

"Is Miss Bowen going home?" Solomon asks.

"Ja, I suppose she is."

"Home to America."

"I reckon, ja."

"Where are we going now, Mister Archer?"

"We're going to find that stone, Solomon."

He remains silent.

"You're going to take me to where you buried it, a'right?"

"Yes, Mister Archer."

"Good man, Solomon."

Archer nods confidently as he pushes the flap door of a supply tent open. The inside smells like stale cardboard and sand and it irritates Archer's nose. He grabs the first two backpacks he sees and tosses one behind him to Solomon.

"Fill it," he says as he heads towards the first row of shelves, "with supplies. Food rations and water canteens, quickly."

Solomon nods and follows behind Archer, who is making quick work of filling his pack. He grabs packets of dried foods and water canteens as he marches between the shelves. Solomon moves slower than Archer does, but when he realizes that Archer's pack is almost full, he quickens his pace. The two men don't spend more than a minute inside the tent before they are ready to leave again. Their bags are filled with food and water and ammunition, and Archer has even managed to find a bottle of Jack Daniels and several packs of cigarettes to squeeze in. The SAT phone he finds, he tucks into the pocket of his pants.

"No maps, Mister Archer?" Solomon asks as they exit the tent.

"You said you didn't need a map, Solomon," Archer says sternly.

Solomon nods.

"Let's go, then."

Archer walks quickly down the ridge of the hill they're on and bursts into a full sprint when they enter the tall grass. He clenches the straps of the backpack tightly to keep it from bouncing against his back. Solomon follows behind him like a dog would its master.

"We'll run for one hour and then we'll walk for ten minutes," Archer pants between strides. "We'll cover the most ground this way."

Archer and Solomon are halfway gone by the time Maddy reaches the front of the line. She is face-to-face with one of the aid workers signing people in.

"Miss, are you boarding?" The man holding the clipboard looks at Maddy.

"Yes," she says automatically.

"Name, please."

"No," Maddy has a sudden change of heart.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not boarding the plane."

"Are you sure?" He asks, looking at her seriously.

"Yes, I'm absolutely positive," she tells him confidently.

The man doesn't press. He waves his hand for the next person to come up as Maddy heads off to where she said good bye to Archer. She looks around with her heart in her throat and she feels dejected when he, nor Solomon, are nowhere in sight. She walks around the outskirts of the airport and looks out at the vast African horizon. Among the tall grass, she sees two heads running along. She recognizes them — Solomon and Archer.

Instantly, she feels the urge to run after them. Her feet ache and her insides tremble and her fingers curl up into her palm in a tight fist. She knows they're running and she knows they'll be out of reach quickly if she doesn't decide on her next move. She goes against her better judgement and throws herself head first into what could possibly end up being the worst decision of her life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two**

"Okay, we can walk now," Archer says as he holds his hand up.

He and Solomon break their sprint as they leave the tall grass and enter the dense jungle brush. Both men are gasping for air from having run for so long, but they quickly calm themselves as they walk on at an even pace. Archer rubs his forehead before slicking his hand back over his damp hair. Solomon looks at him. Both men are sweating.

Maddy trails behind them at a safe enough distance to keep herself hidden without losing sight of them. When she sees them walking, she feels great relief and slows herself down. Her chest is heaving and she feels sticky and nauseous, but she is determined to press on behind them.

The daylight disappears quickly and the pitch blackness of the jungle is unnerving. It takes an hour for Maddy's eyes to fully adjust to the lack of light and soon the big silver moon in the middle of the dark sky seems brighter than the sun. She can hear Archer and Solomon settling down in one spot for the night and Maddy is unsure of what to do next.

She fears that if she stops to rest, she will fall asleep and risk missing Archer and Solomon leaving at daybreak, or perhaps even earlier. She has already been following them by ear more than sight and her anxieties about her decision are at an all-time high. Going out on a limb, she decides to make her way over to Archer and Solomon. The jungle has fallen into such a thick silence that Maddy swears she can hear her own blood pulsing through her veins.

Maddy presses on cautiously. She tries to hear Solomon and Archer to gauge where they are, but she is surrounded by nothing but silence and darkness. A sudden feeling of trepidation grabs hold of Maddy's consciousness and she stops and closes her eyes. She has this foreboding feeling that her life is about to come to an abrupt stop and it scares her into frozen panic. Her ears ring loudly and her throat constricts and she feels as though she might just implode.

Her anxiety has taken such a hold of her now that she feels paralyzed. It takes her a handful of seconds to register the sensation of someone's arm around her neck. A forearm to the jugular. A sharp blade to the cheek. A knee to the back of the thigh.

"RUF?" The voice sounds like thunder rumbling in her skull as she feels her knees give out under her. "Are you RUF? Huh?"

She recognizes the voice as she tries to pry the arm away from her throat to let her breathe, or at least to speak. She manages one word. "Archer!"

He releases Maddy from his chokehold and her body crumples onto the jungle floor like a tower of sand at high tide. She falls to her hands and knees coughing and heaving and Archer stands stiff for a moment. He shoves his switchblade into his pocket and then bends down beside Maddy. He grabs her bicep and yanks her up. He can barely see her face in the darkness.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing here?" He growls. "I could have killed you!"

"Archer, Archer, please," Maddy begs, trying hard to catch her breath. Her heart is beating so furiously that she's afraid it might just stop. "Archer, please let me just catch my breath for a moment."

"Miss Bowen?" Solomon's smooth voice comes as a relief.

"Why did you leave our spot, Solomon?" Archer barks.

"I heard you yelling, I thought there was danger," he says, still calm. "And then I heard Miss Bowen's voice."

"Ja, ja, Miss Bowen followed us," Archer sneers. He lets go of her bicep and she falls back onto the ground.

Solomon approaches Maddy and kneels down in front of her to help her up. He takes her shoulders and steadies her as she continues her attempt to compose herself from her prolonged state of anxiety. The feeling of her blood rushing back to her extremities is a slow process, but having feeling in her arms and legs again is assuring. Archer paces behind them with his thoughts reeling. He almost just killed her. He could have easily snapped her neck by accident if he grabbed her more aggressively. When Solomon lifts Maddy to her feet, Archer stops pacing and walks over.

"What were you thinking, Maddy?" He hisses.

"Mister Archer, do not be mad at her," Solomon says defensively. "She is scared."

Archer draws in an annoyed inhale. "Go start a fire," he says to Solomon demandingly. "There are matches in my backpack to get a flame going, go on."

Solomon rubs the sides of Maddy's arms assuringly before turning and walking back to their small makeshift camp. Maddy's breathing is almost at a normal rate now, but her heart is still pounding. She touches her cheek where Archer had his blade and she's relieved to feel smooth skin — no gash.

"What were you thinking, Maddy?"

Archer asks the question again, but now his mouth is just a few inches away from her face and his tone has softened to the point of making his voice sound foreign. Maddy opens her mouth to speak but she is unable to articulate a coherent thought in her current state. The sting she felt inside her nose earlier when she was saying goodbye to Archer returns with a ferocious intensity and the only sound that comes from her mouth is a strained whimper. The sound makes Archer feel guilty all over again and he quickly puts his arm around her small shoulders and pulls her pathetic little body close to him.

"Solomon, is that fire started?"

His hand feels like sandpaper even through the fabric of her t-shirt. Maddy wonders how many lives have ended under his hands and the thought does nothing but feed her anxiety all over again. She walks under his arm, pressed against him, as he pushes branches and leaves out of the way. Archer sits Maddy down against a rock and holds his hand out as if to tell her to sit and not move .

"I just need the match, Mister Archer," Solomon answers.

He's created a promising bundle of sticks encircled by rocks that Archer nods to confidently as he picks his backpack up. He opens the canvas flap and pulls out the box of matches to toss to Solomon, who pulls out three to light and stick in between the twigs. They catch after a few seconds and soon the whole bundle is ablaze. The flame lights Solomon's face up and Maddy almost smiles. She's glad to see him.

"I will get more sticks," Solomon says as he stands. He hands the matches back to Archer, who takes one out and strikes it to light his cigarette.

"No no, this is enough," Archer tells him sternly.

"It is too small, it will not last very long."

"That's fine, Solomon."

The column of smoke he pushes through his lips catches in the weak light of the small flame and Maddy's fingers twitch towards her camera. She's taking a picture before she even realizes it, and just as quickly as she snaps the shot, her camera is back in her lap with its lens capped. Archer acts as though he is oblivious to the action as he takes another deep drag from his cigarette.

"A big fire will attract unwanted attention, huh," Archer says as he goes to sit beside Maddy.

Solomon nods and goes sits across from them close to the tiny fire and he holds his hands out over it. The dry warmth is comforting.

"Why did you follow us, huh? Are you fucking crazy? You could have been killed, Maddy."

"But I wasn't," she says, finding her voice. "I'm fine."

"Are you hurt?" He asks. "Did I hurt you?"

"I said I'm fine."

"Maddy," he growls. "This isn't the time to act smart, a'right? You're in the bush now, you're out of your element."

Maddy doesn't respond.

"You were stupid to not get on the plane, Maddy."

"So were you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Three**

The sun is just beginning to rise when Maddy feels Archer's rough hand on her arm. She forces her eyes open as she starts and Archer makes a quite noise that Maddy interprets as a chuckle. She looks up at him as she rubs her eyes with her grimy hands.

"Have some water, huh," he says as he takes his hand off her arm.

He pulls his canteen from his backpack and offers it to Maddy, who takes it without a moment's hesitation. She has a few generous drinks before offering it back to Archer, who shakes his head.

"Drink more, Maddy."

"I don't want to finish it all."

"Drink more," he repeats.

Maddy listens. She drinks until she can't manage another swallow. Archer takes the canteen from her and finishes its contents before capping it and dropping it back into his backpack. He wraps his fingers around Maddy's bicep and lifts her up.

"You a'right?" He asks her.

She nods.

"Sleep okay, Miss Bowen?"

"I slept fine."

He nods to show interest but he promptly turns and walks toward Solomon. Maddy follows him and soon, the three of them are marching through the thick brush. Solomon and Archer walk beside each other and Maddy remains a few paces behind them. She snaps a few photos to finish off the roll of film in her camera. The sound of it winding is like music to her ears and she makes quick work of putting a new role in when it finishes. Archer turns to look back at her. Her head is down almost completely and her full attention is on her camera as she loads the fresh role of film.

"Maddy," Archer barks.

She snaps to attention and looks up at him.

"You're going to fall behind."

"I'm keeping up," she answers.

She snaps the back of her camera closed and listens to it wind again. Archer motions for her to walk between her and Solomon. She hop-skips forward and looks up at him. He has a thick chunk of branch between his teeth and he's chewing on it quite furiously. Maddy decides he's using that in place of a cigarette.

Archer walks close to Maddy the entire time they're moving. He stays half a pace behind her and he seems more watchful and cautious now that he has someone other than himself to keep alive. They walk all day and break only twice. When night falls, they press on until they reach a rock formation on the side of a mountain. They are near an RUF camp and the sound of gunfire and loud music reminds them just how close they are to danger, and also, to the diamond.

They find a small cave that faces a deep valley and Archer decides it's the safest place for them to stop to rest for the night. It's a bit of a climb as well, and very fortunately so, because just as they begin the short ascent up the rocks, a fierce thunderstorm begins and a hard downpour of rain falls from the sky. They all scramble up the side of the cliff and into the cave like rats. Like the previous night, Solomon gathers sticks for a fire as Archer paces around. He's instructed Maddy to sit against the wall like a child, and not wanting to oppose him, she listens.

The twigs are damp and Archer douses them with the alcohol he managed to find amongst the food rations he stole. He takes a long swig and offers the bottle to Solomon, who declines it, before pouring it over the bunch. It lights easily and burns slowly as the rain pours down. Solomon sits near the fire as he eats some of the food he packed. It's the first time he's eaten in days.

Maddy watches the fire. She feels hypnotized by it. Archer drops a packet of food into her lap before lowering himself down beside her.

"I think you should eat something, huh. I could snap you between my fingers like a branch."

Maddy picks up the packet from her thighs and looks at it.

"Just add some water and shake it a bit, it's like a soup."

She nods. Before she has a chance to open her meal, Archer takes the packet from her and tears it open for her. He pours in water from his canteen and pinches the top closed to shake it for a few seconds. He hands it back to Maddy, who folds the corner of the packet into a spout to pour the 'soup' into her mouth easily. It tastes salty and repulsive, but it's food and she's starving. Archer mixes his own packet and eats next to her. The cave is silent except for the fire and the rain and thunder.

They throw their empty packets onto the fire and they prove to be excellent fuel. Archer sighs and pulls his button down shirt off to ball up under his head as he lies down on the rock floor. He lights a cigarette and puffs on it slowly. Maddy takes pictures of the cave, of Solomon, and of Archer, who currently seems to be enjoying a life deep inside his thoughts.

"Why did you follow us?" Solomon asks Maddy after a moment.

She puts her camera down. "I don't know."

Archer opens his eyes and sits up. He looks at her.

"I just felt like I had to."

Archer raises his eyebrows. He flicks the ash off the end of his cigarette. "For what?"

"For my story," she answers.

He scoffs and shakes his head. "You're not dumb enough to risk death over a story, Maddy, come on."

"I've done it before," she says surely, "and I'll do it again."

"You're just a proud American, Miss Bowen, admit it."

She shakes her head. "I started something with you, with both of you, and I want to see it through right to the end."

"What end, Maddy, what end do you envision?"

She clenches her jaw for a moment before swallowing and shrugging. "Solomon finds his family and you—"

"Get my stone?"

She pauses. She nods.

"And you?"

"I get my story."

"I told you I would die if you published a word of what I gave you."

"If you stayed here," Maddy says quickly. "If you stayed in Africa."

Solomon looks at Archer and then at Maddy.

"You said that diamond was your ticket out of here, didn't you?"

He nods slowly.

"When you get it," she starts, her voice cool and even, "you don't have to sell it illegally. I have connections in America, I can take you both there with me. Solomon will be reunited with his family and you can sell the diamond legally."

Archer laughs and shakes his head. "Your optimism is turning you into an idiot, Miss Bowen."

"What is wrong with that?" Solomon asks. "Mister Archer, it is everything we want."

"You, maybe, but I want my freedom."

"You can be free in America," she tells him. "And alive."


	4. Chapter 4

**Four**

It is their third day of traveling under the ruthless African sun and all three of them are exhausted. Solomon says they are close to where the diamond is and that's enough to keep them pushing forward. Maddy feels like her body is on the verge of just shutting down spontaneously. Her joints ache with every movement and her skin feels tight and dirty, as though the grime she's been toiling in is melting into her permanently. Her clothes are constantly damp with sweat and filthy and she just feels awful. She knows, though, that this will be worth it in the end. Through every second of misery, she retains the hope that this suffering will pay off.

They reach a zone that has been devastated by the war. There are still miner camps established in the area so they navigate around as opposed to going through — it's safer that way, Solomon says. So they jog and then walk and then jog again, doing this for several hours, before reaching the base of a mountain. Solomon tells Archer that they are close. It's midday.

"Up this ridge," Solomon motions up. "On the plateau, I have buried it near a fallen tree."

"That's real specific, huh," Archer spits off to the side. He licks his lips.

"It is unmistakable," Solomon responds. "I know where it is, Mister Archer."

"Ja, ja, I hope you do, Solomon."

"I do."

It's nearing late afternoon and the sounds of gunfire and car engines rips through the African silence like a hurricane. Numbness rains through Maddy's limbs like an electric shock and the three of them stand stiff amidst the branches and leaves of a bush. Maddy feels Archer's hand on the small of her back and he tugs on her shirt.

"Get down," he says in an almost silent whisper.

He pulls her shirt again and she crouches down in the foliage. Archer draws his gun and drops his backpack quietly near Maddy. She can do nothing but look up and him and Solomon and try to gauge their next move. All the muscles in Archer's forearm tense to attention as he clenches his hand around the neck of the gun.

"Stay here," he says to Maddy. "Don't move, a'right?"

Maddy nods.

"I mean it Maddy," he drops to his knee suddenly and grabs her by the chin to make her look him right in the eye. "Don't fucking move, do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Archer looks Maddy's face over twice before standing again. This time, he feels like the one who is trying to commit a face to memory. This could be the last time he sees her and he wants to make sure he has something nice to think about if anything happens to him. He releases her face and squeezes her shoulder and then stands and shoves Solomon out of the bush. Maddy watches them.

The gunfire and engines roar closer until they blast past them and fade in the distance. Maddy feels intense relief and she stands to go and catch up with Archer and Solomon, who she sees are halfway up the mountain. She grabs Archer's backpack by the strap and makes a dash towards the mountain.

"How much more?" She hears Archer bark breathlessly.

"I can see the plateau, Mister Archer!"

"Hurry up, then!"

Maddy is almost powerless when Archer and Solomon start climbing the steep hill faster. She tries to keep pace with them, but she feels as though she's running on a treadmill. She moves quickly, but Archer and Solomon move more quickly and soon, they reach the plateau.

"Start digging," Archer orders.

Solomon drops to his knees and begins clawing at the soft dirt with his fingers. Archer stands over him and looks around impatiently. The sound of the army has disappeared but Archer feels more anxious than ever. Silence is never good in the jungle.

"Archer," Maddy pants as she pulls herself up onto the plateau.

"Christ, Maddy," he snaps. His gun is drawn towards her but he drops it immediately and storms over to grab her by the arm and pull her close to him. "I told you not to move!"

"The soldiers are gone," she breathes up at him.

"You need to fucking listen to me when I say something," he tells her harshly as he squeezes her bicep hard. Maddy winces. "We're out in the open here, it's dangerous."

"I'm fine," she tells him defensively.

"Yeah, of course you are," he scoffs. He lets go of her with a shove. "You and your fucking hero complex."

Three shrill gunshots ring through the air and Archer knows that the soldiers are close, or at least within firing range. Solomon, still on his hands and knees digging, drops completely down onto his stomach and lies flat on the ground. Archer shoves Maddy down and draws his gun. He scans the landscape with one sweep and shoots at the disturbances he spots in the grass before him. He is accurate and swift in killing the two soldiers that just fired at them.

"Get that fucking stone, Solomon," Archer says. "Hurry up!"

He pushes himself up. "I am hurrying, Mister Archer," Solomon answers as he begins digging again.

"Hurry more!"

He pops the magazine out of his gun and replaces it quickly. He goes to look over Solomon's shoulder at the holes he's dug up, all of them empty. He curses audibly and spits off to his side.

"Dig faster, Solomon," he says again as he pulls his SAT phone from his pocket. He dials his contact's number and holds the phone to his ear. "Jesus fucking Christ."

"I cannot find it!" Solomon explains in a moment of frustration.

"What do you mean you can't find it?" He demands. "Solomon!"

"Wait, wait, it is here," Solomon says.

"Hello?"

"Bru," Archer feels relieved when his contact answers. "Bring the plane to these coordinates, a'right, are you ready?"

"Ready."

Archer tells his contact their coordinates as Solomon pulls the wad of fabric from the earth. He opens it up slowly and marvels at the pink diamond in it. No bigger than the size of an egg, it shines fiercely and feels sharp under the pads of Solomon's fingers. Archer sees him holding the stone and his heart begins to race. He hangs up the SAT phone and drops it into his pocket before storming over to Solomon to take the rock from him.

He's in awe as he holds it up to the light. "This is worth millions."

"What now, Mister Archer?" Solomon wipes his hands on his shirt as he stands. "Where is Miss Bowen?"

Archer takes his eyes off the diamond to turn to face Maddy. She's still lying on the floor. "Maddy, get up," he barks. "We're going to the top of the mountain, my contact is on his way with a plane."

No answer.

"Miss Bowen," Solomon says.

Archer shoves the diamond into the breast pocket of his shirt as he marches over to Maddy. He drops to his knees to grab her arm and pull her up. She's limp in his grip and it takes only a moment for Archer to notice the blood on her shirt.

"Fucking Christ," he grits his teeth. "Maddy!"

He puts her arm around his neck as he scoops her up in his arms. She's wafer-thin in his arms and he feels sick with culpability — this is one death that he's not sure he'll be able to live with.

"Is she dead?" Solomon asks quietly.

"No!" He yells. "Keep going, come on."

He motions up the ridge with his head and Solomon continues on their ascent to the peak. "Is she hurt?"

"What do you think, huh?" He pants. "She's fucking shot!"

He can smell the metallic scent of her blood and it's not helping his nerves in the slightest. He looks down at her and the way her head is just hanging back and jerking with the movements of his steps is so unnerving. She looks dead.

"We must get her to a hospital," Solomon says to Archer.

"I fucking know, Solomon!"

Maddy's eyes flutter open at the loud sound of his voice.

"Maddy, Maddy," Archer says urgently. He stops for a moment to get a better hold on her body. "Keep your eyes open, huh."

"Did you get your stone?" She asks slowly.

Archer strains to hear her voice. "Ja, ja, I got it."

"Good."

Her eyes begin to close again and Archer panics and almost trips over a rock. He catches himself and shakes Maddy. "Keep your eyes open!"

She forces them open and looks up at him.

"Keep your fucking eyes open, Maddy!"

"No, I can't," she sighs. "I can't."

"You want your story, don't you?" He growls.

"Maybe in another life," she smiles weakly.

"Maddy, goddamnit!"

He and Solomon reach the peak of the mountain and Solomon clears a space on the dirt for Archer to lie Maddy down. Archer gets down on both knees and lowers her onto the ground carefully. He fixes her head and her arms and legs and looks up at Solomon helplessly. Solomon doesn't know what to do and he offers little in response. Archer removes the diamond from the breast pocket of his button down shirt and shoves it into the pocket of his pants housing the SAT phone. He pulls his shirt off and balls it up in his fist. He pushes Maddy's blood soaked shirt up. Her torso is bloody and dirty and Archer sees that she's been shot in the side. He presses his shirt to the wound so hard that she yells out in pain.

Archer flinches and grabs her chin to shake her head. She opens her eyes after a moment and big tears come spilling down her temples. She draws in a ragged inhale that she almost chokes on.

"Keep your eyes open, Maddy, we're almost out of here."


	5. Chapter 5

**Five**

The next time Maddy's eyes open, she recognizes her surroundings as the interior of a medical tent at a UNICEF base camp. She wonders exactly how she ended up at a UNICEF camp and if Archer was responsible for getting her there. Maddy makes an attempt to sit up straighter than she already is, but the stern sound of someone kissing their teeth keeps her still. Before she can find the source of the sound. Archer is standing over her chewing on a piece of wood. She almost doesn't recognize him without a film of grime covering him.

"Don't move," he tells her.

She nods and relaxes back into the pillows behind her. She licks her dry lips and swallows. "How did you get me here?"

"I smuggled you in," he jokes without a smile.

Maddy cocks her brow.

"You wouldn't have made it to a proper hospital," he says, his tone changing. "So we flew around until we spotted the flag. I figured you were some sort of UNICEF person. They recognized you and put us up."

"Solomon is here too?"

He nods. "He's showering." He approaches the side of her cot and picks up a plastic cup with a straw in it to extend to Maddy. "You should drink this."

"What is it?"

He smirks. "It's water."

The simple act of lifting her hands to take the cup from Archer is exhausting. Her arms feel like they are weighted with lead and she can only manage to hold them up for a few small sips. Archer sees her struggle and moves close enough to put his hands over hers to hold the cup just high enough for her to use the straw. Her skin is warm and soft against his rough palms.

"The doctor said you'll be fine," he says in a low voice as she finds relief in the liquid. "They got the bullet out of you, pumped some blood into you…you're fine."

"You saved my life," she says after swallowing her last sip of water.

He kisses his teeth again. "Don't start with that sentimental nonsense now, Miss Bowen. I just didn't want another dead body on my hands."

"My dead body."

He nods. He puts the cup down.

"Thank you."

He scoffs and shakes his head. "For what? I won't have any thanks, Miss Bowen."

"You brought me here, didn't you? And for that, I'm thankful."

He nods half-heartedly.

"Do you still have your stone?"

He nods again, this time more intently. "Of course I do."

"What are you going to do now?"

He purses his lips and gnaws down on the piece of wood he's been nursing all afternoon. Archer doesn't know what his next move is. His original plan of getting the stone and leaving with his contact was thrown right out the window the moment Maddy followed them into the brush. He thinks back on her offer to take him and Solomon to America. A legal diamond sale. No blood on his hands.

"What are you thinking about, Archer?"

He takes the wood from his mouth and spits before answering. "You said you have someone who would buy this stone in America."

She nods. "Is that what you want to do?"

He hesitates. "I'll end up in prison. They'll have my head in America. I push stones for a living, Maddy, I'm not a UNICEF type like you."

"You gave me my story, Archer, I'll see that nothing happens…"

She sighs slowly as a wave of pain throbs through her. She feels nauseous with discomfort so she closes her eyes for a moment to try and quell the feeling. Archer watches her tense in the cot and he shifts his weight from one leg to the other. She opens her eyes again and clears her throat.

"You gave me my story," she repeats. "I will keep you safe."

"And Solomon?"

"I'll search the refugee manifest for his family," she says. "And I'll have them flown to America."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Say I sell the stone and avoid prison time… and then what?"

Maddy thinks. "I can get you a job."

Archer almost throws his head back in a full, hearty laughter, but instead, he shakes his head with a scoff and turns to pace around. He chews on the branch he's been using in place of a cigarette furiously and his teeth break off soggy splinters that he promptly spits out. Maddy's eyes follow him up and down, back and forth, until he stops at the foot of her bed to look at her again.

"A job?"

"A real job," she says.

"Diamond smuggler isn't recognized as an occupation in America?" He hisses. "I push stones for a living, Miss Bowen, that's what I do. That's what hundreds of poor fucks do here. I get a nice fat pay every time I make a deal. What will America offer me that could possibly match what I have now?"

"Safety," she answers in a sure voice, or at least, as sure as she can sound in her current state. "Security. You won't have to walk around with a target on the back of your head."

He waves her words away with a dismissive flick of his hand. "I've got a target on my back and a price on my head, Maddy, do you understand that? I'm a smuggler," he repeats with intensity. "If someone wants me dead, they'll find a way to get to me, here or in America."

"You'll be safer in America."

"I've been fine here," he retorts.

Maddy remains silent. Another wave of nauseous discomfort waves over her and she draws in a sharp inhale to try and compose her trembling insides. She sinks into the pillows behind her and realizes how tense Archer has made her when her shoulders slump down into their natural repose. Her muscles relax. She unclenches her fists. Archer watches her face, the way her brow is trembling and the way the tendons in her neck twitch under her skin, as he tosses his branch to the ground. He crushes it under the toe of his boot. Maddy opens her eyes again.

"I'm not forcing you to come to America with me," she sighs. "I'm just telling you that the opportunity is there if you want to take it."

"Ja, ja," he nods. He pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it between his lips. "You'd be met with a hero's welcome in America," he claps sardonically, "save the smuggler and the poor black man from Africa. That's two in one trip."

"Archer…"

"And then you can write about how you fixed a broken man, huh," he spits. "How you brought him to the land of opportunity and put him in a nice suit and tie—"

"Arch—"

"That would be fucking great for you, wouldn't it, Maddy?"

His voice is almost shrill with venom. He's livid and she can almost see his temples throbbing with anger. Maddy doesn't understand why he is acting so standoffish suddenly and she feels dejected and exhausted. She only wants to help Archer and all he seems to be doing is acting difficult and proud.

"Why can't you just let me help you?" She asks finally, exasperated.

"I don't need your help," he barks. He draws in a sharp inhale and blows the smoke out through his flared nostrils. "I never needed your help, Maddy." He looks her over sternly and turns to leave the tent.

"Archer, please just give me a chance to speak!"

"And say what?" He demands. "I got my stone, I got what I came here for, a'right? You have your story and a bullet hole to take home with you."

"What about Solomon?" She asks, hoping her question would made him stay.

"What about him, huh?"

"I could give you both your happy endings if you just give me the chance to, Archer!"

"You fucking Americans all think the same," he says as he drills his finger into his temple. The ashes from the end of his cigarette flake off by the side of his face. "Happy endings, don't make me laugh."

Maddy feels her throat tighten up.

"There are no happy endings in Africa," he growls, leaving.


	6. Chapter 6

**Six**

There are no happy endings in Africa. There are no happy endings in Africa? Archer was a cynic the day he met her and a cynic the day he walked out on her, yet Maddy feels surprisingly hollow without him chain smoking and cursing around her. She doesn't know why she feels this way, but the fact that she'll never see Archer again makes her more sad than she can accept.

She keeps telling herself that he's just gone out for a cigarette or for a walk and that he'll walk in flaunting his big pink diamond like the smug pusher he is. Every nurse or doctor that walks in is Archer until she sees otherwise. Archer never walks back in, he has left for good.

A part of Maddy nags in her mind telling her that she let Archer down by letting him slip away so easily. She wasn't aggressive enough in persuading him to stick around, or maybe she was too aggressive and that pushed him away. She wracks her brain trying to figure out what she did to send him away and it exhausts her into a sleep that lasts almost 24 full hours.

The days pass by in a fog that clears only when she has to eat and drink at the aid of a nurse. She sits quietly in her bed listening to her doctors and caretakers and offers little in terms of conversation. She feels as though she is mourning, but for what, she doesn't know.

Archer never thought of Maddy as anything more than a means to an end. Maybe he had already washed his hands of her when he told her to get on the plane and Maddy chasing after him was her grabbing at straws. Perhaps Maddy should have gotten on that plane, perhaps Archer should have joined her.

"I have some excellent news, Miss Bowen," her doctor enters the tent cheerfully. Maddy looks up at him. "How are you feeling today?"

"All right," she answers. "Three days of rest and constant care have done well for me, thank you."

"I am pleased to hear," he nods to her. "You are well enough to leave, Miss Bowen. Your vitals are back to where they should be, all your levels are looking great and your stitches are healing wonderfully. When I changed your wound's dressing, there was hardly any infection or bleeding."

"That is good news." She smiles, but only for a moment. She hasn't smiled in days and the sentiment seems forced and insincere.

"I have the forms ready for your discharge," he starts as he hands a few sheets of paper to Maddy. "You just have to sign and then you are a free woman."

"Do you have a telephone I could use?" She asks. She picks her pen off the table near her cot and signs the papers as her eyes flick over them.

"Oh yes, of course," he answers. "We have a communication tent on the other side of the camp, you are free to use the resources there to contact whomever you may need to contact."

"Perfect, thank you," she smiles.

"A nurse will be here to bring you new clothes and a new bag for your belongings so you can get on your way."

Maddy turns her head to look at her shoulder bag. The thick canvas is stained with dirt and blood and, though that bag as served her well, she feels that a new one would be in her best interest. She looks back at the doctor and expresses her sincerest gratitude for their care. The doctor is more than modest — he tells her how eager he is for her to spread awareness about the happenings in Sierra Leone so that the war may finally end.

As he leaves, a nurse enters with a UNICEF shoulder bag and a t-shirt and jeans with her forms, which she signs right away. She sets the clothes down on a chair at the foot of her cot and apologizes if they fit too loosely.

"They are for men," she says. "There were no more clothes for adult women. Maybe they are too big, I tried to get the smallest male size for you."

"Oh, they're fine," Maddy replies. "They're just clothes, they'll do, thank you."

The nurse bows her head and leaves Maddy alone in the tent. She gets out of bed slowly, wary of her injury, and walks around a bit to stretch her limbs out. Being up and about on her own two feet feels good again. She grabs the clean clothes she was brought and changes into them immediately. They smell starchy and fresh and they feel like relief on her skin. The pants are indeed too lose for Maddy and they don't stay up on her hips, but after emptying the contents of her old bag to put into her new bag, she tears the strap off it and fashions herself a belt. She's pleased with her craftiness as she tosses the old bag aside.

Maddy begins putting her things into her new bag. Her moleskine notebooks, her pens and pencils, her passports and media credentials, her dozen rolls of film, and her camera gear. Everything fits just right. She draws in a deep breath as she stands up straight with her bag hanging off her shoulder. She feels as though she has shed her old skin, the skin Archer has touched.

The spot on her forehead he brushed with his fingers after the car accident. Her cheek where she guided his hand. Her wrist where he held when he told her to get on the plane. Her hands where he helped her drink water. She can still feel him and she doesn't want to. She shakes his face from her thoughts and leaves the tent.

She holds her hands over to eyes to let herself adjust to being in the bright sunlight again. It feels hot and dry out here and Maddy almost wants to retreat back into the shade of her tent until sundown when the air because cooler and more comfortable. But she wills herself onward — she has people to call and things to arrange.

Maddy turns the corner around the tent and starts when her face is met with someone's chest. She gasps in surprise and steps back, her eyes darting downward in a mixture of embarrassment and apology. By the boots she sees inches away from her own feet, the person she just bumped into is a man, and one that is no stranger to the area.

"I am so, so sorry," she says apologetically.

The man kisses his teeth with a wry scoff.

Maddy recognizes the sound and she looks up.

"You're clumsy for a photographer, Miss Bowen."

"I'm a journalist."

"Ja, ja, journalist."

Maddy doesn't waste another moment. She lifts herself on her toes and throws her arms around Archer's neck and presses her forehead into his shoulder. He smells like cigarettes and sweat and the smell sets her senses on fire. She's never hugged anyone this urgently before and her stomach feels knotted in her throat. It only takes a few seconds for Maddy to register the obscenity of the hug, but when she goes to break it, she feels the resistance from Archer's arms fully around her torso. He has encircled her completely. Maddy looks at the side of his neck and she can see that his heart is racing through the pulse just under his jawline.

Archer closes his eyes and allows himself the luxury of vulnerability as he draws in a deep inhale of Maddy. She smells like soap. She smells clean. Archer opens his eyes again and lets go of her. He puts his hands on her shoulders and holds her at arm's length.

"I thought you left."

"Ja, ja, I did leave," he answers. He drops his arms by his sides as he chews on the corner of his lip. He flicks his hand near his head. "I went around."

"I thought you left for good."

"Do you take me for a monster, Miss Bowen?"

Maddy blinks at him.

He cracks a small, knowing smile. "Don't answer that."

"Why'd you come back?"

"I gave America a bit more thought, you know, some careful consideration," he says sarcastically.

The two begin walking side by side.

"And?"

"I think I'll go."

"With me, to New York?"

"What do you mean, 'with me'?" He asks. He smiles again, he almost laughs. "Are you going to shove me into a crate and ship me over like stolen cargo, Miss Bowen?"

"No, I just," Maddy shakes her head with a soft chuckle. "You're willing to come to New York with me?"

"That is America, isn't it?" He asks.

Maddy laughs again and nods. "That's America, yes."

"Good."

"Do you know where Solomon is?"

"He's waiting on the other side of the camp."

"You went with him?"

"Ja, he helped me tie up some loose ends," Archer answers vaguely.

"Does he want to come too?"

"Solomon is the one that convinced me to listen to you and go," he looks down at her for a moment, but her eyes are straight forward, "He told me that you were a good person, that I should accept the goodness you have to offer."

"Solomon is a smart man," Maddy says.

"For a fisherman."

"He's a smart man."

Archer nods.

"Is he waiting at the communication center?"

"Ja, ja," Archer answers.

"Do you still have your stone?"

"What do you think, Miss Bowen?"

She nods.

"I've got that big pink and plenty more, now."

"Is that what you left for, to get more diamonds?"

"I told you, I went to tie up loose ends," he taps the palm of his hand mockingly. "Where's your little journalist book, huh, you should be writing things down if you can't remember them!"

"I remember things fine, Archer."

"I collected what was mine," his tone changes and he speaks from a much more aggressive cadence. "I wasn't about to leave with unfinished business."

Maddy nods understandingly. He pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it with a match and Maddy takes that as a cue that their conversation is over. They continue walking in silence, side by side, until they arrive at the next camp. Archer walks ahead and leads Maddy to Solomon, who is pleased to see her again. Maddy is equally content. They exchange niceties briefly and then Maddy goes to call to arrange for a chopper and three seats on a flight to New York from Freetown. She is informed that there are no commercial flights leaving Freetown because of the rebel threats, but after making a few more calls to her publisher in New York, a private flight is set up and everything is in line for them to leave.


	7. Chapter 7

**Seven**

Archer snores louder than anyone Maddy has ever met. With his head back and his mouth hanging open, he sounds like a truck every time he inhales. Solomon is sleeping as well, but his breathing is even and he's completely silent. Maddy looks at Archer as he gurgles through another loud snore. She fears he may kink his neck if he sleeps like that for the entire flight to New York so she reaches over and touches his cheek to fix his head. She starts when he snaps awake and grabs her wrist with alarming strength.

"Archer," she hisses, startled.

He clenches his teeth and looks at her for a few seconds before releasing her wrist. "What are you touching me for?"

"I didn't want you to kink your neck."

He furrows her brow at her as he clicks his tongue.

"I was just looking out for you."

"You do that a lot, huh."

"Well…"

"Stop looking out for me. One of these days I'll actually kill you, huh, then what?"

Maddy frowns. She lowers her voice to continue speaking. "Archer."

"What, Maddy?"

He looks at her and Maddy is instantly reminded of how piercing his eyes are. With clean skin and hair that isn't tinged with dirt, they look bright blue and vibrant. Almost friendly. Maddy loses her train of thought for a moment as he raises his thick brows expectantly.

"What?"

"Why are you so angry with me? I thought this was what you wanted. You didn't have to come back to my tent after you left."

He grunts. "Ja, I know."

"Lighten up, then."

He licks the corners of his lips. "No."

"Stubborn and a cynic," she cracks a smile and Archer's brows only furrow more. "I may have gotten myself in over my head."

The wrinkles in Archer's forehead flatten and his lips twitch into something vaguely similar to a smile. She pats his knee twice before turning her attention back down to the manifest in her lap. Archer doesn't take his eyes off her. He watches her lips stiffen into a line across her face as she narrows her focus to the names on the page. He blinks when her hair comes loose from behind her ear.

"What are you looking at?"

Archer shrugs. "I'm just looking."

"At?"

"I'm looking to look, a'right?"

"Nothing is that simple with you, Archer," she looks back up at him.

His face snaps back into its usual scowl.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Ja, Miss Bowen, your hero complex is showing again."

The comment catches Maddy off guard and she frowns enough to make Archer laugh. Maddy almost doesn't believe what she's hearing and even Solomon rouses to look behind him to make sure what he's hearing is actually real. He smirks before turning back to face forward in his seat. Archer licks his lips again and settles back in his seat with a self-satisfied smile plastered on his face.

"I'm going to sleep again. Keep your hands away from my face, huh?"

"Or else what, you'll break my wrist?"

"Don't test me, Maddy."

"Go to sleep, Archer."

Archer nods a scoff to her. He inhales deeply as he shifts his body in his seat to rest his head back. His eyes close. Maddy tunes the sound of his breathing out while she continues scanning the tiny names in the manifest in her lap. She chews lightly on the inside corner of her bottom lip and focuses on the task at hand until one of Archer's loud, croaking snores breaks her attention.

After an annoyed sigh and a having read over the same line of names four times, Maddy lifts herself from her seat to go and sit in the vacant one beside Solomon. He greets her presence with a broad smile and a bow of his head.

"Mister Archer sounds like a beast."

Maddy nods. "I can barely focus with him breathing right in my ear."

"Have you found the names of my family?" He asks, gesturing to the papers she's holding.

She shakes her head. "Not yet."

"I can help," he says. "I can read."

Maddy smiles and nods. She hands Solomon the pages belonging to one of the camps that was close to his village and he takes the papers with caution. He runs his fingers down the small type before beginning to read each of the names. Some of recognizes and others he doesn't, but none of them are his family. He reads through the pages several times for his own personal closure before he shakes his head and sighs.

"Not in this camp," he tells her.

Maddy scrawls something down on the cover of the stapled package. "There are still several more camp lists to look through," she assures him. He looks devastated. "Are you hungry, Solomon?"

He doesn't respond.

"Let's eat something, Solomon, and then we can continue looking through the lists. There's plenty of food on this plane and I think we've earned a decent meal after the past few days."

Solomon looks at her with gentle eyes and nods twice. Maddy smiles and puts the lists away before getting up to fetch them each a meal from the small kitchenette at the back of the jet. The luxury of flying privately, she thinks to herself as she puts a dish into the microwave.

She returns to her seat and she and Solomon eat together. He tells her more about his family and Maddy is eager to hear. She feels even more strongly about trying to find them and she knows she'll stop at nothing to get him his wife and children back. He thanks Maddy for the food and takes another camp list to look through as she gets up to take their plates back.

She looks at Archer as she passes him. He's still asleep and his head is angled the same way it was earlier. She takes her's and Solomon's plates back to the kitchenette and washes them to put away. She goes back to Archer and leans over her seat to adjust his head — she didn't take his threat to heart. She reaches over to put her hand against his cheek to fix his head.

Her fingers are barely touching him when he speaks. "Miss Bowen," he says warningly.

Maddy can't help it when the corners of her lips curl.

"What did I tell you, huh?" He opens his eyes slowly and looks at her as he sits up straight in his seat. "I'll kill you, Maddy."

She raises her shoulders innocently. They share a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

**Eight**

Maddy manages to locate the camp where Solomon's family is when she finds their names in the manifest. She makes the appropriate phone calls immediately and it only takes an hour for her to ensure that they will be on the next available flight to New York. When Maddy tells Solomon the news, his eyes light up and he is moved almost to the point of tears. The sincerity in his voice makes Maddy's heart swell and she reminds him that it was the least she could have done for him.

She leaves Solomon to enjoy the news in his own space on the plane. She returns to her seat, and much to her surprise, Archer is awake and looking out the window.

"You found his family, huh?" His eyes are still fixed on the scenery on the other side of the circular window.

"I did, yes," she nods. "They'll be together within the next couple of weeks, maybe even sooner if the rush I put on their passports is approved."

"How's your hero complex doing right now?" He turns to face her.

"I didn't do it to feel proud of myself," she tells him. "I did it for Solomon."

"And for peace and all that mumbo-jumbo, right?"

"Archer, if you're going to be a jerk again, I'm going to sit at the front of the plane by myself."

He scoffs. "Go on then, Miss Bowen, I'm not stopping you."

"You should be happy that Solomon will get to be with his wife and children again," she says as she gets up.

"I'm glowing for him," he answers flatly.

"How would you feel if you were taken from your family?" She snaps harshly.

Archer looks up at her. His stoic indifference to the situation turns quickly into sadness and even more quickly into anger as the last images of his brutalized parents come crashing back into the forefront of his mind. He swallows hard. His chest feels heavy. Maddy sees the instant change in him and she can't believe what she just said — she threw the fact that he does not have any family at all back in his face in the cruelest way. She sits back down and goes to hold Archer's clenched fist, but he yanks his entire arm away. He's sitting rigidly at the edge of his seat now, like an animal that has just been threatened.

"Archer, I'm sorry," she says gently. "I'm so sorry."

"For a journalist," he hisses as he gets up hurriedly, "you're pretty fucking careless with your words, huh."

"Archer, I wasn't thinking," she apologizes. "Please sit down, I'm sorry."

He punches the headrest of the seat in front of him as he pushes past Maddy's knees. He regrets agreeing to come to New York and, just for a second, he even regrets getting Maddy to safety after she was shot. He feels a twinge of shame for having such a morbid thought, but he is so angry that he isn't thinking straight. Archer doesn't know how to handle thinking about his parents again. He usually battles the memories with alcohol and cigarettes, but he has neither at his disposal and that only fuels his rage. His sober consciousness is making him more volatile than usual.

He storms to the front of the plane and throws himself down in the free seat in front of Solomon. He's sweating. His nails are digging into his palms. His teeth are clenched so tightly that he fears they will crack. His temples are throbbing. He needs something to shoot, something to break, something to destroy. He lets out a strained exhale that sounds almost like a growl and that's enough to prompt Solomon out of his seat.

"Mister Archer," he says quietly. "What is the matter?"

"Fuck off, a'right?" he snaps instantly, whipping his head around to look at the black man.

"Mister Archer…"

"I said fuck off, Solomon!" Archer yelps.

He punches the back of his seat and his fist almost goes through it. Solomon is startled at the show of aggression and he sits back down. He doesn't wish to further anger Archer. Maddy hears Archer hit his seat and she gets up and goes over to him.

"Archer," she sighs carefully as she kneels down in the aisle beside his seat. "Archer, I didn't mean what I said."

"Maddy, please," he responds. He sounds urgent, desperate almost. "Go back to your seat and leave me alone for the rest of the flight."

"I'm not going to leave you alone," she answers with a shake of her head. "I want to resolve this now before we land."

"You fucking Americans are really thick," he turns to look at her, "you know that? Especially you, Maddy."

"Archer, you don't mean that," her voice trembles lightly as she speaks.

"Don't tell me what I do and do not mean, a'right? Because you have no fucking idea, you just think you do."

Solomon doesn't like the way he's treating Maddy and he gets up again, this time joining Maddy in the aisle. "Mister Arche—"

Like a tiger going in for the kill, Archer bolts up from his seat and lunges over to grab Solomon by the collar of his shirt. Maddy scrambles up to her feet and stands just in time for Archer's tight fist to connect with her cheek. She falls back into the wall of the plane with a loud enough thud to draw attention from the pilots.

"What's going on back there?" One asks loudly.

"Fucking Christ almighty," Archer breathes.

"What is going on?" The pilot repeats.

"Nothing!" Archer spits.

He lets go of Solomon's shirt with a bit of a shove. He drops to his knees and pulls Maddy up into his arms. He grabs her chin to steady her head to see what damage he caused her. Her eyelids flutter as she tries to focus on Archer's face.

"Are you happy now?" Archer grits his teeth.

Maddy squeezes her eyes closed. Big tears roll down the sides of her cheeks.

"Get me a fucking towel or something," Archer turns to look back at Solomon, who darts to the back of the plane to the restroom.

He returns with a handful of small, rolled up hand towels. Archer grabs one and shakes it open before using it to wipe the blood from her face as he cradles her head in the bend of his arm. He doesn't know where his punch connected and he doesn't know where the blood is coming from. Her nose? Her mouth? Her cheek? He dabs the bright red substance gently and Maddy hisses when he touches her cheek. He sees that he's split her cheek open and a swell of guilt explodes in his stomach.

"Christ, Maddy," he shakes his head.

"Were you… were you trying to knock some sense into me?" Maddy hiccups between ragged breaths.

"Ja maybe I was," he responds as he juts his jaw out for a moment. "Did it work?"

"I guess we'll h-have to wait and see."


	9. Chapter 9

**Nine**

Two stitches and one painkiller later, Archer still feels guilty. He feels angry and guilty. Even after the plane lands and they leave the airport and hop into a cab to Maddy's apartment, he still feels guilty. He can't even bring himself to look at her.

Archer sits in the front seat of the taxi with his hands on his knees and his eyes fixed on the city racing by outside the window. Solomon sits next to Maddy in the back seat. He leans in to speak to her.

"Why do you forgive Mister Archer for hurting you?"

Maddy lifts her shoulders.

"Why?"

"Sometimes you have to suffer for the people you care about."

"Why do you suffer so much for Mister Archer?"

"Because I know he's a good man."

"But Miss Bowen, he always hurts you."

"I know he's a good man, Solomon, he just doesn't know how to be one."

She speaks just loud enough to catch Archer's ear if he's listening. He's not, but he hears her all the same. He forces himself to look up at the rearview mirror. He sees Maddy's face. Her olive complexion. Her fresh injury. Her smile. She's turned to Solomon, but her eyes meet Archer's in the mirror and he quickly turns his head.

"What if Mister Archer is not really a good man, then what will you do?"

"I'll accept him for what he is."

"As a monster?"

"As a man."

The taxi pulls up the curb in front of Maddy's apartment building and the three get out quickly. Maddy pays the driver generously and thanks him and then turns to look at Archer and Solomon. They both look out of their element and Maddy can't help but smile.

"Please, gentlemen, after you."

She motions up the stairs and Archer and Solomon climb them a few paces in front of Maddy. They enter through the revolving doors and are greeted by the security guards behind the front desk. Maddy is friendly with them and Archer assumes they know each other. He keeps his head down. Solomon nods to them politely. They walk through the front lobby to the elevators where Maddy swipes a card that grants her access into them. She presses the button to her floor and Archer notes that her apartment is on the top floor.

The elevator ride is silent. Maddy stands facing the doors and Archer can't keep his eyes off the nape of her neck. The first bumps of her spine are visible from under her skin. Archer wonders what they feel like, he wonders if he can see her spine all the way down her back. The elevator doors opening pull him out of his reverie. He's surprised to be stepping into a room and not into a hallway.

"Make yourselves at home," she says.

Maddy's apartment is a loft apartment. Everything is out in the open with only a few half walls signifying different rooms. The kitchen. The bedroom. A reading nook. A dining space. The living room. Maddy walks to the living room and drops her bag on the low coffee table that sits in front of a brown tweed sofa.

"The kitchen doesn't have any food in it because I've been away for the past few months, so I'll have to go shopping later," she rubs her hands together as she soaks in the smells of her apartment. "Who wants to shower first?"

She turns to look at the two men. They're standing side by side in front of the elevator, which has closed now. Archer tilts his head to the side.

"Solomon, you can shower first. Come on, I'll show you the bathroom."

"What about clothing, Miss Bowen?"

"I have robes," she answers. "I'll go and buy clothes when I go grocery shopping."

"Are you going alone?" Archer asks, shaking his head. "You shouldn't go alone."

"We're not in your jungle anymore," Maddy says to him. "We're in mine. I can handle myself here. But yes, Solomon, I'll provide you with clothes, don't worry."

"Thank you, Miss Bowen," Solomon tells her with a bow of his head.

Maddy smiles and leads Solomon into the bathroom. She fixes him a set of towels and tells him to take his time. She returns to Archer, who is still standing by the elevator. She looks at him. He looks at her.

"Are you just going to stand there?"

"Why do you keep forgiving me, huh?"

She raises her shoulders.

"I punched you and I cut your cheek, Maddy."

"It was an accident."

"Maddy."

"The punch was not intended for me, I just happened to get in the way."

"Tell me why you keep giving me all these chances, Maddy."

"You heard what I said to Solomon."

"You tell me why."

"I'm going to head out now before it gets too late."

"Maddy."

"Make yourself at home here, like I said. The remote for the television is on the couch. I'll be back in an hour."

"Maddy!"

"I'll be back in an hour."

A loud huff escapes Archer when she leaves. She's so stubborn, he thinks to himself. He turns around and decides that he might as well kill time familiarizing himself with her apartment while she's gone.

Her kitchen is on the left. One long countertop, one sink, one toaster, one refrigerator, and one stove. He drags his hand across the cool granite of the counter as he looks out onto the living room. It's basic just like the kitchen is — one sofa in front of one coffee table in front of one average sized television.

From behind the counter, he can see her bed in the far corner of the space sectioned off by two half walls. Her bed is covered with white sheets with several big white pillows strewn across the mattress. She must like her pillows, it's the only thing she has in excess.

Archer feels almost let down by the simplicity of her apartment, but he realizes that anything more extravagant than the basics would have been entirely out of character for Miss Bowen. He shoves his hands into his pockets and feels the diamonds he has on him. He empties his pockets onto the countertop. One velvet pull-sack and one wad of fabric — hundreds of small diamonds and one big pink. Archer sees millions as he fingers the small diamonds and his heart races in his chest. The prospect of getting money from these stones excites him tremendously. He puts the rocks back into his pockets and continues through her apartment.

The entire back wall of the space is covered with bookshelves and every single shelf is filled with books and magazines and photo albums. Another excess. Archer looks the shelves up and down as he scans the titles on the spines. Some are photography books and others are books published by journalists about conflict areas, war zones, famines, and natural disasters. This is her true extravagance, he realizes.

He picks an album off the shelf and opens it. It's filled with personal photos. Maddy is not in any of them and Archer figures she is probably behind the camera. He thumbs through the pages hoping to see Maddy in one of the photographs, but he only sees strange faces smiling and laughing. He sees happiness. It bothers him. He puts the album back in its slot on the shelf and pulls another out in hopes of finding pictures of Maddy, not pictures taken by Maddy.

Archer works his way through two rows of albums before finding one with a picture of Maddy in it. She's still holding the camera, he notes, when he notices her extended arm in the corner of the frame. Her green eyes look so vibrant in the photograph. He turns the page and flips through the rest of the album in hopes of finding another picture of her, but he has no such luck. He puts the book back in its place and pulls another, thicker one out. He sits on the floor with his back against the shelf as he looks through it.

This album is filled with polaroids and Maddy is in almost every single one of the snaps. As he looks over each faintly colored square, his realizes his heart his pounding against the back of his ribs. His throat is dry. His palms are sweating. He licks his lips and swallows as he closes his eyes and rests his head back against the hardwood shelf. He must be exhausted, he tells himself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ten**

When Maddy returns to her apartment with an armful of groceries and clothing, she is greeted with silence. No television, no talking, no arguing. Just snoring. She slides her shoes off and pushes them against the wall beside the door. She enters the kitchen on her toes and puts the bags in her arms down on the counter.

Maddy unloads the groceries first. She does so quietly and efficiently while thinking about what she'll make for dinner tonight. Maybe pasta, she thinks as she puts the apples and oranges into the fruit drawer. Maybe salmon steaks. She finishes putting the groceries away and then brings the new clothes for Solomon and Archer to the table in the dining room. She peers into the living room as she takes the pants and shirts and socks and underwear out of the bag.

Solomon is lying down on the sofa in the robe she left for him. His arms are folded behind his head and he looks clean and comfortable. Archer, on the other hand, is still dressed in the same clothes he's been wearing for the past couple days. He's lying back awkwardly against the bookshelf and she wonders what he's doing back there. She strolls over to him and notices the album in his lap. She smiles.

She kneels down beside him and lifts his hand just enough to slide the book off his lap. She closes it and puts it back in its place on the shelf before turning her gaze back to Archer's dormant face. She cups his cheek gently to adjust his head. His glassy eyes open slowly and he looks at her. He makes no effort to move his cheek away from her palm.

"You're back," he says. His voice is raspy.

"I just got back in now."

Archer nods.

"Did you like what you saw?"

Archer's brow cocks.

"My albums."

"Oh." Another nod. "Ja, Miss Bowen, you take nice photographs."

"Thank you, Mister Archer," she smirks.

Archer lifts his hand to put over Maddy's. Her knuckles feel soft against the palm of his hand. Maddy smiles a bit as she moves closer to him. Archer allows the gesture as he pushes himself to sit up straighter against the bookshelf.

"You haven't showered yet."

He shakes his head.

"I bought you clothes to change into," she says. She rubs her thumb over his cheek. "Jeans and t-shirts, nothing too American."

He cracks a smile that lasts only a few seconds. His attention falls onto the cut on her cheek, the cut that he gave her earlier. He's filled with guilt all over again and suddenly Maddy's hand feels like it's burning a hole in his face. He drops his hand from hers and goes to stand up, but Maddy is quick to hold him down by his shoulder. His eyes are met with hers when he looks at her.

"What?"

"Look what I did to your face, Maddy."

"I know what you did."

"Have you seen what I did?" He asks her. "Have you looked in a mirror today, Maddy?"

"Yes I have, and I told you, it was an accident."

Archer kisses the back of his teeth. "Ja ja, everything bad is an accident to you, Maddy."

"Archer."

"I'm a soldier, Miss Bowen. I'm what you Americans would call a brute," he says as he rolls his hand next to his ear. "I have no business being taken care of like this."

"You're more than that," Maddy shakes her head.

"What do you see in me, huh?" He demands, his eyes narrowing.

"Do you think I'm expecting something from you for taking care of you?" She asks him.

That's exactly what Archer thinks. He has never been on the receiving end of pure benevolence before, he's only used to receiving kindness in exchange for something else. Diamonds, money, a gun. He shrugs her hand from his shoulder as he stands up. He straightens his dirty shirt and watches as Maddy stands up next to him.

"I'm not helping you and Solomon because I want something from you," she tells him in a low voice. "I'm helping because I want to help, because it's the right thing to do."

"Ja, the right thing to do," he jeers as he stands.

"Archer."

"It was a mistake for me to come here, a'right?"

"Archer!"

Archer is startled at Maddy's tone — he's never heard her raise her voice before. He snaps his mouth shut and his brows pinch together as he stares Maddy down. She lets out an exasperated sigh before running her hand through her hair.

"Listen to me for a second, please, Archer."

He raises his brows expectantly. "I am listening, Miss Bowen."

"Don't mock me."

"I'm not mocking you."

"I know when I'm being mocked and right now, I'm being mocked."

Archer smirks and shakes his head.

"You know what, Archer, if you want to leave, I'm not going to stop you."

Maddy throws her hands up as she takes a few steps back from him. She motions to the front of her apartment and lifts her head to wait for a response from Archer, who is standing stone stiff in front of her. Solomon has roused as well and he's sitting up on the sofa looking at the two argue. Archer glances at Solomon. Solomon raises his shoulders. Archer looks back at Maddy. Maddy lifts her hands.

"Go on, Archer. Go if you want to go."


	11. Chapter 11

**Eleven**

"Dinner was good, huh."

Archer rests his hip against the counter near the sink where Maddy is washing dishes. He folds his arms over his chest and tilts his head completely to the side in an attempt to catch Maddy's gaze. Her eyes are downcast on the soapy water her arms are elbow-deep in. Archer can hear the dishes floating against each other and against the sides of the sink.

"I'm glad you liked it," she says.

He nods. "Ja, ja, for a journalist, you're not too bad of a cook."

Archer catches a glint of a smile race across her thin lips. He gnaws on the inside corner of his lips as Maddy turns the tap on. She rinses three round plates under the warm flow of water and Archer grabs a dry dish cloth from the counter.

"I'll dry them," he offers, holding his hand out.

Maddy doesn't look at him when she hands him the plates.

"Where do they go, huh?"

"In the cupboard above the toaster."

Archer nods. He goes to open the cupboard before beginning to dry the plates. Maddy is very meticulous about her dishes, he notices. They're all arranged by size. Dinner plates, snack plates, dessert plates, and then bowls. She only has six of each and Archer assumes she isn't used to having much company. Maddy turns the tap off and Archer looks over his shoulder at her. She's drying the silverware and cups.

"Where do the cups go?" Archer approaches the counter and picks the three clear glass objects up.

"In the cupboard to the right of the toaster."

Archer nods and goes to put them away. He leans the small of his back against the edge of the counter when he closes the cupboard to look at her. She tilts her head from side to side and she dries each fork and knife individually. She puts each piece down to the side before taking a new one up in her cloth. Archer rings his fingers as he watches her.

Maddy turns around to put the cutlery in the drawers and she's surprised to be met by Archer's intense stare. His mouth is in a line across his face and his eyes look black in the dimly lit kitchen.

"I've got these," she says as she approaches the drawer. She puts the forks down in their place before putting the knives in. "You can go watch television with Solomon, you know."

"I do know, ja," he nods. "I don't want to."

"What do you want to do?"

"Well I just helped you with the dishes."

"Yes you did, thank you."

He waves a dismissive hand in the air in front of his chest.

"Now we're done the dishes."

"Ja, I would say so."

"What do you want, Archer?"

Maddy is too tired and too frustrated for Archer's cryptic games. She's been off her keel since arguing with Archer earlier and the only thing she wants now is to lie down and sleep for the next twelve hours. They've already discussed the sleeping arrangements for the night — Archer and Solomon are to share her bed and she will sleep on the sofa. Both men protested that plan, but Maddy insisted that the couch was perfectly comfortable and that the bed was meant for two people, so her sleeping in it alone while the two men squeezed onto the sofa would be ridiculous.

"I want you thank you for dinner," he tells her in a low voice.

"You're welcome."

"And for everything else, Maddy."

"You're welcome," she repeats, this time with a slight bow of her head. "It's fine, really, you don't have to thank me every time I do something. It's fine."

She turns and leaves the kitchen to join Solomon on the sofa. He's watching CNN. He looks to Maddy to ask about why the happenings in Sierra Leone aren't being covered on the news and she explains the media and society and what society expects out of the media. Meanwhile, Archer is seething in the kitchen. He grits his teeth and clenches his fists and rolls his shoulders back. He doesn't move for several minutes, and when he does, he's rigid.

"I need a smoke, huh," he barks.

Maddy looks at him. "The window above the reading table pushes open," she motions towards the table and stools in the corner of her apartment. "You can smoke there."

Archer marches over as he pulls his crumpled up packet of cigarettes from the pocket of his french jeans. He shakes the pack and pulls a smoke out with his lips before pulling the lighter out. He holds the flame up to the tip and inhales until it lights. He expels two thick columns of smoke from his nose as he pushes the window open. He drops himself into a stool and rests his elbow on the window sill.

He smokes his way quickly through three cigarettes before he realizes the pack is empty. He crumples up the cardboard packet with annoyance and frustration. He winds up to throw it off to the side, but he remembers where he is, and instead, he shoves it back into his pocket. He enjoys the last few puffs of his third cigarette more steadily. He flicks the butt out the window.

When he stands, he notices the television is off. Solomon is walking towards Maddy's bed and Maddy is spreading a blanket on the sofa. He glances at Solomon as he approaches Maddy in the living room.

"I need cigarettes, huh."

"Do you smoke in your sleep?"

He narrows his eyes and shakes his head. "I finished my last one."

"We'll go to the corner store tomorrow and buy you a new pack in the morning."

"And what if I want a cigarette right now?"

"Then you're out of luck, Archer. It's almost ten o'clock. Solomon is tired, I'm tired, and you should be tired too."

He shakes his head. "I'm not tired."

"Then just go lie down and rest."

Another shake.

"Archer, please," she says urgently, holding her hand up. "I am exhausted, too exhausted to be having this conversation. Go lie down, sleep will come to you quickly. My bed is comfortable."

"Ja, and I suppose this couch will be comfortable for you," he scoffs.

"It will suffice, yes."

Archer shakes his head as he turns on his heel to walk to the back of the apartment to Maddy's bed. Solomon is sleeping on the far right side and there is plenty of space for Archer. He lowers himself onto the low bed slowly and lies on his back with one arm folded under his head and the other resting over his stomach. He listens to Maddy rustling around in the living room for a few minutes before the apartment is overwhelmed by a piercing silence.

No gunfire. No bombs. No loud music. No rustling leaves. No animals. No insects buzzing by his ears. His heart nearly explodes in his chest as the silence takes hold of him. He doesn't like the quiet. He stirs restlessly in the bed for several hours while Solomon snores quietly beside him. He is out like a light, but Archer is more wide awake now than he's ever been in his entire life.

He gets out of bed the moment he feels a sweat coming on. He pulls his shirt off and drops it by his feet. The cool air in her apartment is a welcome relief against his bare torso. He goes to pull his pack of cigarettes from his pocket, but he quickly remembers he has none left and he kisses the back of his teeth in frustration. He looks around. The only light in the space is coming from the dim glow from the city outside the windows. Cars, street lamps, traffic lights. He stares out the window for a few minutes before wandering into the living room.

Maddy is dead asleep on the sofa wrapped completely in the blanket. She's lying on her side with her knees pulled close to her chest. She looks tiny. Archer smiles. He walks around to the front of the couch and sits down with his back against the armrest Maddy's head is close to. He can feel her exhales graze the back of his shoulder and the sensation feels completely foreign to him. He learns that Maddy doesn't snore. Or drool. Or move around much. She's still and quiet, like a doll.

He looks at her from over his shoulder after a few minutes and he nearly jumps out of his skin when he notices her eyes are open. He turns his body completely to face her.

"What are you doing here, Archer?" She asks him in a sleepy voice.

"Can't sleep, huh."

"I told you to go lie down."

"I don't want to lie down beside Solomon."

"And I suppose sitting on the floor in front of me is more comfortable?"

A brief pause swells in the air between them. Archer's eyes flicker over her face but Maddy doesn't move. She's still holding the blanket closed tight against her chest on her side. Archer licks his lips and nods.

Maddy pushes herself up on her elbow. Archer watches her move, not quite sure of how she's going to react. Instead of shooing him back to bed, she moves closer to the edge of the sofa and holds the blanket open.

"See if you can get in back there," she tells him tiredly.

Archer gets up and takes the blanket's edge from Maddy's hand to hold it open more. He manages to get over Maddy to lie down behind her and he's reminded of how wafer thin she is when he settles behind her. He drapes his arm over her and makes sure she's covered. She clutches the blanket to her chest again.

"Better?" she asks him.

Archer nods.

"Go to sleep."

Archer closes his eyes for a few minutes before opening them again. He has a feeling that he won't sleep at all tonight. He lets out a silent sigh. He puts his hand on the back of Maddy's shoulder and moves it slowly and gently down her bicep to the bend in her arm to her wrist to rest on the back of her clenched hand. She's holding onto the blanket like her life depends on it and the tension in her knuckles nearly makes him laugh.

He brushes the tips of his fingers between the grooves of her knuckles until he feels her loosen her grip on the blanket. Archer slides his fingers between hers to lace them together. Maddy presses herself into him and Archer accepts the gesture by lowering his lips to the nape of her neck.


	12. Chapter 12

**Twelve**

Like an innate reflex, Archer's eyes open when he feels sunlight on his body. He licks his lips and swallows as he realizes Maddy is still up against him. Wrapping his arms around the mass under the blankets, he quickly becomes aware of the fact that the Maddy he feels against him is just a row of pillows. He snaps to an upright position and scans the apartment. Solomon is still asleep in Maddy's bed. The sun is just beginning to filter in through the apartment windows. Maddy is nowhere in sight.

He shoves the blankets and pillows away from him as he gets up and stretches his arms over his head. His back feels stiff from sleeping an entire night on his side. He spots a pack of cigarettes on the edge of the counter in the kitchen and he pounces on it like a lion would on fresh meat. He rips the pack open with a precise bite and pulls a cigarette out with his teeth. He pulls his lighter from his pocket and inhales until he feels the hot nicotine caress the back of his throat. He sucks in another deep drag as he rubs the side of his face.

Archer hears movement in the bathroom. His first instinct is to reach for his holster, but he reminds himself that he is in Maddy's apartment in New York and that the rummaging he hears is probably Maddy. Still, his muscles tighten and his fists clench. He approaches the bathroom door just as it opens and he bites down hard on the filter of his cigarette. Maddy rounds the corner and looks up at Archer. Her face is dewy and pink and her eyes are as clear as glass. Even the gash on her cheek looks clean.

"Good morning," she greets him with a small laugh.

Every muscle in Archer's body loosens and he pulls his cigarette from his lips as he breathes out an audible sigh of relief.

"At ease soldier," she teases. Her smile doesn't falter for a moment. "My name is Maddy Bowen, I own this apartment."

"Ja ja, I know who you are," he grins.

Maddy smirks and licks her wet lips.

"What were you doing in there, huh?"

"Well first, I did laundry. Then I showered and put on some clean clothes to go about my day in."

He nods.

"What are you doing awake so early?"

"I should be asking you the same question, huh," he scoffs.

"I asked you first, Archer."

"The sun is up," he cocks his head towards the windows.

"I see you found the cigarettes I bought you."

He looks down at the offending object pinched between his fingers and nods.

"Are they okay? I don't know what you smoke."

"A cigarette is a cigarette."

"I'm going to start on breakfast," she tells him as she walks by him.

Archer follows Maddy into the kitchen. He leans over on the counter, his elbows pressed against the cool granite. Maddy puts a small bowl in front of him.

"What's this for?"

"Your ashes."

"Huh." He flicks the end of his cigarette into the bowl.

"How did you sleep last night?"

"Fine."

"I slept well too, thanks for asking."

Archer laughs and raises his eyebrows. "I was getting around to it."

"Of course you were."

"I was, Maddy," he tells her adamantly.

"Is Solomon still asleep?"

"I think he might be dead, actually."

"Archer," Maddy hisses, looking at him with furrowed brows.

He raises his shoulders.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"What can you cook?"

"I'm quite proficient in the kitchen."

"How about a coffee?"

"I can make that happen."

Maddy grinds the beans and fills the espresso maker with her back to Archer. His eyes don't leave her frame as she works and he watches the way her shoulder blades move underneath her t-shirt, the way they poke out and roll as she lifts her arms and moves her hands. Solomon rouses to the sound of her grinding the beans and he gets out of bed to walk over to the counter where Archer is leaning. He greets the man with a nod.

"Good morning, Mister Archer."

Maddy hears his smooth voice and she turns around with a bright smile on her face. "Good morning, Solomon!"

Solomon bows his head. "Miss Bowen."

"How did you sleep last night?"

"Very well, thank you," he says courteously. "I had a lot of space when Mister Archer got out of bed."

"Ja, ja," Archer nods as he stubs his cigarette out in the bowl. He licks his bottom lip before jutting his jaw out.

"What would you like for breakfast this morning, Solomon?"

He opens his mouth to answer but Archer holds his hand up. "How about an omelet, huh Maddy?"

"I can make omelets," she nods, looking to Solomon, who nods as well. "Two omelets, then."

Maddy turns back around to get her frying pan and the eggs and butter from the fridge. While she begins taking care of breakfast, Solomon moves closer to Archer and lowers his head to speak.

"Mister Archer, what is omelet?"

Archer lets out a low grunt of a chuckle. "It's eggs, bru."


	13. Chapter 13

**Thirteen**

"What are you doing, Maddy?"

"Typing out the final draft of my story."

"About Africa?"

She nods.

"About me?"

Maddy looks up from her laptop screen at Archer, who's standing in front of her with his arms folded tightly across his chest. His brows are tense and his mouth is tight in a line across his face. Maddy nods again.

"You know I'm as good as dead when that story goes out, huh."

"You're not in Africa anymore, you're out of danger."

He scoffs. "You are so naive, Miss Bowen."

"I'm not naive, Archer. You're in my apartment in Manhattan, they're not going to find you here. They can't."

"You don't know what men are capable of when they're out for blood, Maddy."

She dismisses his concern with a cool wave of her hand. "You're just being paranoid."

Archer raises his shoulders and kisses the back of his teeth. Maddy looks back down at her screen and then at her notebook before continuing to type. Archer appreciates her optimism.

He walks around the table and picks up a stool. He pushes it against the back of Maddy's stool and she stops typing. Her fingers hover over the keys as Archer lowers himself onto the seat behind her. She feels the sides of his legs on the outside of hers, his hands on her hips under her shirt.

"Archer."

"Ja, Maddy?"

"What are you doing?"

"Huh," she can hear the smile in his little grunt. "You don't know?"

"No, I don't," she says. She straightens her back and puts her hands on her thighs.

He kisses the back of his teeth again, but this time the sound is loose and assuring and Maddy closes her eyes. The pads of his thumbs feel rough against the skin of her back and she makes a conscious effort to suppress a shudder when he presses them into the dimples on either side of her spine.

"Relax, huh," Archer breaths into the back of her neck. She can feel his lips on her now. "You Americans are wound far too tight, huh."

"I'm trying to work here, Archer."

"Ja, Maddy, so am I."

Archer drags his rough thumbs up the soft bumps of Maddy's spine. Her skin is warm and smooth and it reminds him of the red sand back home. He feels the fabric of her bra and grins. Maddy lets out a sharp hiss when she feels a blade pressing into her back. She hears a snap and becomes very aware of how loose her bra has become.

"Archer!"

"Ja, ja, Maddy, I'll get you a new one," he says as he pockets his switchblade. "I can't be dealing with those little clasps, huh."

"Archer," she sighs. "Where's Solomon?"

"What, huh, you want him to join in?"

"No," she turns her head just enough to see his face.

His eyes are dark and shiny and his brows are creased. His mouth his half open with expectancy. His tongue raises to the back of his teeth before he licks his bottom lip.

"Where is he?"

"He's in the shower, Maddy."

"Are you sure?"

"He could be standing right behind me and I wouldn't care," he growls.

"I would!"

Maddy shrugs Archer off and pushes his leg out of the way so she can stand. She shuts her laptop and it closes with a sharp click as she scans the interior of her apartment. Solomon is nowhere in sight. She hears the sound of the shower going in the bathroom and she turns her attention back to Archer, who is still sitting with a smug grin plastered on his face. He raises his head.

"Huh?"

"So he is in the shower."

Archer nods. He stands and approaches Maddy, who steps back until she's backed herself into her bookshelf. Her heart slams against her ribs when Archer's arm encircles her waist. He pulls her shirt over her head with ease before pulling her cut bra off. Both articles fall to the floor by their feet. Maddy holds her breath. Archer grins.

She's just as wafer thin without a shirt on as he imagined her to be. She's flat and almost boyish, but he likes what he sees. Maddy tries to gauge his face for a reaction, but he's stone sober as his eyes take in every inch of her naked torso.

He lowers his head and nudges her jawline with his nose. Her eyes close and her head tilts and Archer presses his lips to the soft of her neck. His lips are just as rough as his fingers and the way his stubble scratches her skin makes her insides tremble. His hands latch onto the bends in her arms and he slides them down to her wrists. He lifts her hands and puts them on his shoulders without breaking contact with her neck.

Maddy laces her fingers together behind Archer's neck. His hands are on her hips now. The sides of her ribs. Groping her chest. Flicking over her nipples. Pulling her closer. He grunts against her throat before sinking his teeth into her. Maddy groans.

Archer makes quick work of their jeans before bending over slightly to pick Maddy up. She wraps her legs around his waist and rolls her hips against his as he presses her back completely against the shelf. With one hand under her thigh and another on the wooden column by Maddy's shoulder to brace himself, he kisses her neck more aggressively. Maddy can barely catch her breath as she grabs his face to pull it back so she can look at him.

"What?" he breathes.

"I like to get kissed before I get fucked."


	14. Chapter 14

**Fourteen**

Solomon exits the bathroom in a fresh pair of pants and shirt none the wiser to what Maddy and Archer have just finished doing. Archer is sitting on the sofa with a cigarette perched between his lips and Maddy is hunched over her laptop typing away. He looks at Archer, who greets him with a nod and a smile that seems just a little bit too smug for his own good.

"Right, Solomon," he says as he expels a thick column of smoke from his mouth.

"Hello Mister Archer."

Maddy turns around. "Solomon, are you hungry?"

He shakes his head courteously.

"I have to go out in a few minutes anyways, I was thinking of bringing home sandwiches from the bistro around the corner." She turns in her stool and rests her hands in her lap. "You'll be hungry in an hour or so, won't you?"

"Yes, Miss Bowen."

"Where are you going, huh?" Archer barks.

"I have to drop off my film rolls to be developed."

"When are you going?"

"As soon as I finish typing this up."

"You're not going on your own."

Archer stands from the sofa and tosses the remote to the television towards Solomon, who reacts quickly and catches it. Solomon goes to sit on the sofa while Archer walks to the back of the apartment to stand over Maddy. He takes in a sharp inhale of nicotine.

"You're not going on your own," he repeats.

"I've gone plenty of times before."

"Well today, you won't be going on your own, a'right?"

"If you want a tour of the city, just ask."

Archer shakes his head. "I could care less for this city, huh."

"So?"

He narrows his eyes before raising his brows.

"What, do you want to come with me so you can buy me a new bra?"

He cracks a half smile. He shakes his head.

"Go watch TV with Solomon. You can come with me if you want, I won't stop you."

He turns and walks back to the sofa and Maddy turns her attention back to her notebook. She makes quick work of finishing typing and she saves the document before closing her laptop. Archer hears the sound and looks over his shoulder at her. She rises from her seat and picks her book up, turning a few pages before shutting it and putting it down over her laptop.

"Are you going now?"

Solomon looks at Archer. "Going where?"

"I'm going to bring in my film rolls to be developed," she answers, approaching the sofa. "Would you like to come?"

Solomon shakes his head. "No thank you, I would prefer to stay here."

"Right, good man," Archer tells him.

"Archer," Maddy sighs. "Did you tell him to say no if I asked?"

"No, Miss Bowen," Solomon assures her. "I do not want to go. It is clear Mister Archer would like to go with you alone."

"Don't you want to see the city today, Solomon? It's so beautiful out!"

"Another time," he tells her.

She nods. "All right, if you're going to stay in, then make yourself at home. There are snacks in the kitchen if you get hungry, but I'll bring home something for lunch. If the phone rings, answer it, because it's most likely news about your family."

Solomon smiles appreciatively. Archer stands and walks around to the back of the couch to stand behind Maddy as Solomon expresses his gratitude towards her. Maddy is modest in accepting his thanks. When she turns around to get her bag from the corner of her apartment, she's met with Archer's hungry blue eyes. He scans the face of the journalist he ravished earlier and grins.

"What?" Maddy asks, pushing past him.

She plucks her bag up off the floor and goes to the door. She presses the button of the elevator as she puts her shoes on. Archer follows. He shoves his feet into his boots and stands beside her.

"Nothing."

"Were you just looking?" Maddy asks. Her gaze is straight forward.

He nods.

"Just looking to look, right?"

"That's right, Miss Bowen."

Maddy can hear the grin in his voice and she sees red. The elevator doors part and the two step in. Maddy tells Solomon they'll be back soon as the doors close. She turns to Archer, who's focus is on his boots now.

"I want to make one thing clear, Archer," she says.

Archer cocks his brow. "Ja, go on."

"I'm not your own personal piece of meat."

"Woah, Miss Bowen," he looks up at her and chuckles. Her face is serious. "What are you talking about, huh?"

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid, Archer, I know that look on your face, I've seen it on the faces of many men before."

"Have you had many lovers before me, Miss Bowen?"

"That's none of your concern, Archer."

"What look then, huh?"

"That self-satisfied look on your face," she responds, shaking her head. "I don't like it. You're acting like you own me. Before I couldn't get you to lighten up and now you're eyeballing me like you own my body."

"Huh," he scoffs. "Maddy."

He wraps his fingers around her bicep but she's quick to pull her arm away. She's an intensely independent person and she feels that Archer's face full of self-congratulation when he looks at her is a threat to that independence. Maddy doesn't like to feel threatened. She's beginning to think that surrendering herself to him and giving into that morning's surge of desire was a mistake. She doesn't know how Archer works. What if he took that moment of pleasure as the beginning of an ownership? Maddy has no idea, and not having an idea scared her. Sex in America wasn't a resignation of autonomy to a lover, but maybe Archer interpreted it as such. He liked having control as much as she did.

She tucks a loose tuft of hair behind her ear and steps out of the elevator first. Archer's face is phlegmatic as he follows one pace behind her. Whatever remnants of that morning's euphoria he had in his bloodstream have disappeared completely and he feels like his usual grim self again.

"I wasn't looking at you like I owned you, huh," he growls, lowering his head to speak at a level just loud enough for Maddy to hear.

"Yes you were, Archer, I saw it in your face."

"Can you see what I'm thinking from my face?"

"I'm a photographer, it's my jo—"

"You said you were a journalist," he grabs her bicep hard.

They stop walking in the middle of the sidewalk and they interrupt the flow of people behind them. New Yorkers mumble under their breath as they circle around to continue walking. Maddy goes to pull her arm free, but Archer's grip is solid.

"First you tell me to lighten up, huh, to let you in," Archer hisses at her.

Maddy opens her mouth to interrupt him before he continues. "You didn't let me in, you cut my bra off and fucked me against my bookshelf," she spits. "You haven't let me in at all."

Archer's eyes narrow. "I can't fucking believe this," he snarls. "Get down from your high horse, Miss Bowen, and open your goddamn eyes. I saw that you wanted it. We both wanted it."

"It was a mistake," she snaps.

Archer releases her arm. He bites down on his bottom lip and Maddy sees blood forming around his white teeth. He throws his hand up to the side of his head dismissively and shakes his head with a sharp click of his tongue.

"Go develop your fucking film on your own, huh, I can't be bothered with you."


	15. Chapter 15

**Fifteen**

Archer enters the lobby of the apartment building and the security guard behind the desk looks up at him curiously. He notices his destination is the elevators and he speaks up professionally.

"Excuse me, sir," the man says.

Archer cocks his head up and looks at him.

"You won't be able to get back up to the apartment without a card."

"Huh," he grunts. "I don't have a fucking card, a'right, so you'll just have to buzz me up."

"Sir," the man says patiently. "You need a card."

"I'm staying with Maddy Bowen, huh," he approaches the desk and drills his finger down against the granite top. "I walked her out a second ago, you saw us, ja?"

The man nods.

Archer lifts his hands and scoffs sardonically. "A'right, bru, I don't see an issue."

"I'll have to escort you up."

Archer nods. The man walks out from behind the desk and they ride the elevator up together in tense silence. Archer makes no effort to thank or even acknowledge him when the elevator doors open to Maddy's apartment. He just steps out and storms over to the sofa, dropping himself down like dead weight.

"Mister Archer, you are back so soon?"

Archer nods.

"Where is Miss Bowen?"

"Developing her film."

"Why are you back here without her?"

"Why are you asking so many fucking questions, bru?"

Solomon withdraws into himself apologetically. The two men watch television together for an hour before Archer takes up his usual chain smoking by the window. He leans against the cool glass and looks down at the city as though searching for Maddy among the crowd on the streets below. She's long gone, he thinks. She walks quickly when she has somewhere to be.

He smokes his first cigarette to the filter and nearly singes his lips. He flicks the butt out of the window and lights another. His palms are sweating. His heart is racing. His temples are throbbing. He feels the same way he felt when he punched Maddy by accident in the plane. Guilty. In the wrong. He draws in a deep, slow inhale and holds his breath for a moment before expelling smoke from his nostrils.

Archer realizes that he really has offended Maddy. She is usually even-tempered and for her to snap at him the way she did earlier meant that he must have really set her off. He replays her comments to him about the way he looked at her over and over again, and try as he might, he can't see how he was in the wrong.

Solomon's focus is on the television. He's watching a program about fish in the tropics. He has never seen anything more captivating than a group of bright sea creatures swimming in unison. The only fish he has ever seen were the ones in the nets he used to pull in Sierra Leone to make a living. Those fish were dull and lifeless. These were brightly colored and full of energy. He was hypnotized.

Archer lights his third cigarette. He is still thinking about Maddy and about how she became his problem ever since she decided not to board the plane. When she followed them into the brush, Maddy was his priority. Maddy was his. He was the one holding the wheel in Africa, he had his foot on the gas. Now, in New York, Maddy could take care of herself. She didn't need Archer, Archer needed her. He didn't like needing someone just as much as Maddy didn't like it. They were identical while being on opposite ends of the spectrum.

He sighs and rubs the back of his neck after flicking his cigarette butt out the window. He folds his arms across his chest and decides that he needs to get back to Sierra Leone. Without Maddy and her optimism chirping at his side, his mind is free to wander back to the streets he pushed diamonds on, to the bushes he trekked through to go from city to city for rocks. He pats his pockets and feels the diamonds he has on him now. They are not enough anymore. A big pink and a small pull-sack of tiny diamonds are no longer enough for Danny Archer. He needs more.

He abandons his smoking post near the window and goes back to the couch. He is unimpressed with the fish on the screen. He puts his head back and closes his eyes, willing himself to sleep. He knows what he's going to do now to get back to Africa. He'll sell a few small stones through Maddy's contact and get just enough money for a plane ticket and a few meals back home. Then he would be gone and out of Maddy's life so that she didn't have to worry about being his piece of meat anymore.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sixteen**

Archer storming away from her to retreat back into the apartment building sours Maddy's mood further, but she reminds herself of who instigated the argument and that she has more important things to worry about today. She has places to be and people to talk to, she can't let a silly fallout with Archer ruin her entire day. She takes in an even breath and continues down the sidewalk as if nothing happened and makes the most of her day out.

Before doing anything, she walks several blocks to drop her film rolls off at the developer's office. The familiar space makes her heart swell. She has trusted this studio with her photographs since she moved to her apartment almost fifteen years ago and she still feels the same happiness walking in now as she did when she first entered the place. They greet her by name and process her order without asking her the details — they know exactly how she prefers her photos to be developed and they go through the process impeccably. Maddy pays before she leaves, and from there, she walks another few blocks to Vital Affairs Magazine's head office.

Upon entering, her colleagues greet her with textbook niceties and express little interest in regards to the cut on her cheek. In their line of work, it's not uncommon for journalists and photographers to come back a little worse for wear, so it's become an unspoken rule of sorts to not point out injuries unless the injured points them out first. Maddy acts as though the gash on her cheek is nonexistent and everyone else follows suit. The group exchanges a few textbook niceties before Maddy enters the office of her editor, Richard.

They discuss her article on Sierra Leone. Maddy gives Richard the full breakdown of what happened and what she was going to write about. He's pleased to hear her enthusiasm and even more pleased when she tells him she will be able to produce the completed piece within the next few days.

"I thought you'd be down there for at least another couple weeks," Richard tells her as he twists a paperclip out of shape between his thick fingers.

"I had intended on that," she nods, touching her knee. She laughs dryly. "But I got shot… a small part in a series of very, very unfortunate events."

"You probably would have stayed if you had your way," he smirks and nods. Maddy has worked through worse, he knows. "There were reports of elevated violence where you were, you had the office worried for a little while."

"It'll take more than elevated violence to hold me back from getting my story, Richard."

"That's why you're the best writer VA has."

Maddy accepts the compliment with a modest nod. They discuss her article for almost an hour before she leaves the office. She's glad that she was able to speak to Richard, and for the first time since meeting Archer, she feels like she's spinning back on her own axle again.

She makes her way back across the city to her block and decided to pick up a few more articles of clothing for Archer and Solomon. A few shirts, jeans, socks, and more underwear. She pays with her credit card and then heads to the bistro to pick up three sandwiches for lunch. She's starving now and she's sure the boys are too.

She enters her apartment to the sound of the sombre narration of a wildlife documentary. Solomon's eyes were fixed on the television, but when he became aware of Maddy entering, he stood up and nodded to her.

"Enjoying the National Geographic channel, Solomon?" she smiles at him.

"Yes, Miss Bowen," he replies. "It is almost like I am there in the ocean with these creatures. I have never seen anything like it."

"The ocean is beautiful," she says as she walks into the kitchen. She puts the bag of food down on the counter before setting the clothes down on the table. "I brought lunch."

Solomon turns the television off approaches the counter to sit down on one of the stools.

"Roast beef sandwiches with fries," Maddy pulls the three take out containers from the bag. "They're delicious."

She slides Solomon's across the counter and he opens the styrofoam box almost cautiously. The aromatic cloud of roast beef steam that puffs into his face makes his mouth water. He has never smelled anything quite this delicious before. Maddy watches him eagerly as he takes his first bite.

"Good?"

"Yes, Miss Bowen," he nods after chewing and swallowing. "It is very good, thank you."

She grins, content over the fact that he likes the sandwich. "Where's Archer?"

Solomon motions towards the window by her reading nook. Archer is leaning against the window frame with every ounce of his attention focused on the happenings of the city down below. Maddy sucks her lips in and dips the tips of her fingers into the back pockets of her jeans. She strolls over to Archer, looking him up and down as she heads over. He doesn't do so much as breathe in her direction when she stands in front of him. He's too busy staring out the window and gnawing on his fingernails.

"I brought lunch back."

"Ja," he scoffs. "I saw."

"Are you going to come sit down and eat?"

"Don't you think I would have walked over there when you came marching in if I wanted to eat?"

He turns to look at her only for a moment and Maddy sees how dark his eyes are. Maddy frowns. She feels guilty knowing she's the reason for his sudden relapse into closing himself off, but she meant everything she said to him earlier and she refused to apologize. She rings her fingers and looks at him.

"Are you going to stand here all day?"

"What's the name of your contact?"

"My what?" She's thrown by the question.

"Your contact, huh," he repeats with annoyance. "For my stones."

"Oh, yes," she nods slowly. "His name is Anthony, I have his card in my diary."

"A'right," he juts his jaw out and raises his eyebrows. "I'm gonna need that card."

Maddy shakes her head.

"Maddy," Archer says threateningly. "I'm only here because you promised me a legal sale, don't fuck with me now."

She shakes her head again. "I'm not going to give you his card just because you're intimidating me, Archer, I won't be bullied into anything in my own home."

"Huh," he scoffs.

His hand shoots up near the side of his face in a dismissive wave as he walks past Maddy.

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Out, huh," he growls. He sticks his feet into his boots and presses the button for the elevator.

"You know your way around the city?"

"I survived in Africa," he spits. "I think I can manage in New York City."


	17. Chapter 17

**Seventeen**

New York is nothing like London. The cities lie on opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. The people are different. The air is different. The buildings are different. Everything is different. Archer doesn't like the differences. As he strolls down the sidewalk with a cigarette perched between his lips, he decides that he much prefers London to New York and that New York is nothing more than a means to an end now, despite previously having been the end goal when he was in Africa. Things changed and now the city was nothing more than a stepping stone to find a real end.

Archer doesn't know the streets and consequently has no destination in mind as he wanders around aimlessly. As far as he's concerned, he's just killing time. He buys a pack of cigarettes and smokes one every couple of hours as he walks with the flow of people. Up and down sidewalks, across streets, into shops, out of shops. While he doesn't like the city, he likes feeling like a nobody in it. He's anonymous here. No one knows he pushes stones, no one knows he's an ex-mercenary who has killed more people than he cares to remember. Archer likes the feeling, but not enough to want to stay in New York. He wants to leave as soon as possible, he needs to.

His exit strategy is all he can think about. This place isn't like Sierra Leone, he doesn't know the ins and outs of New York the way he knows his home. There are no shops here for him to pop into to sell a diamond for a quick buck — that sort of business could get you arrested in America. More over, the fact that Archer doesn't know anyone in the stone industry here further turns him off the idea of finding his own contact. There are too many ways to make a mistake in New York and mistakes are something Archer has worked his whole life to avoid. He doesn't know who he can and can't trust and he refuses to play a that guessing game on foreign soil. He decides that unless Maddy gives him the card of her contact, he's going to have to call his own contact in Sierra Leone and make some sort of flight arrangement to get him out of America and back to Africa.

Archer returns to the apartment well after the sun has gone down. It's dark and quiet and Maddy and Solomon are both asleep. Hearing their quiet snores in the dead silence of the apartment only make Archer realize how wide awake he feels. Solomon is asleep in the bed at the back of the apartment and Maddy is curled up in her cocoon of blankets on the sofa. Archer licks the nicotine off his lips as he bends over to remove his shoes. He puts them down on the cool wood silently and then makes his way across the apartment.

He goes to sit in the corner at Maddy's reading nook. Her bag is on the table on top of her laptop and he wastes no time unzipping it and looking through it for the card of her diamond contact. Archer remembers the man's name — Anthony. He needs the card with Anthony's name on it. He rummages through the main pocket of her bag, pulling her notebooks out and leafing through them carefully. The pages are thick and smell strongly of ink and dirt. No card. He pulls another book and flips through it, and again, no card. He puts the books back into her bag and begins checking through the side pockets, but his frantic search is interrupted when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

Instinctively, he raises his arm and spins around and grabs the hand on his shoulder, twisting it harshly. When he realizes it's just Maddy, she's on her knees yelping like an injured animal.

"Fucking christ, Maddy!" He barks. He releases her wrist and she falls completely to the floor.

Solomon rouses instantly and is on his feet in a matter of seconds. "Miss Bowen, what is going on?"

"Go back to sleep, Solomon," Archer answers. He kicks the stool out of the way and kneels down in front of Maddy, lifting her up by her shoulders. "What were you thinking, huh?"

"You almost broke my wrist, Archer," she hisses in a shrill whisper. She shrugs his hands off her and falls back onto her heels as she massages where he grabbed her. "What's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with you!" He retorts, narrowing his eyes ferociously. "I've told you plenty of times not to sneak up on me! I could kill you!"

"Mister Archer," Solomon says, approaching the pair.

"I said go back to sleep, huh!"

Archer stands quickly and storms over to Solomon, shoving him towards the bed. Solomon resists against Archer's push and stands his ground, and that simple gesture is enough to throw Archer into a fit of anger. More forcefully, he grabs Solomon's shoulders and throws him back. Solomon reaches for Archer's arm and the two men fall to the floor grappling each other.

Maddy scrambles to her feet and rushes over to them. She has adrenaline pulsing through her and she's not thinking clearly. She grabs at Archer's arm and tries to pull him off, but her attempt is unsuccessful. Archer pounds down on Solomon with his fists and Maddy goes in again to try and grab his arm. He yanks it free from her hands and winds it back for a punch, but just like the incident in the plane, he connects with Maddy and she finds herself on the floor again. She feels a sharp sting on her cheek and she knows instantly that he's just re-opened her gash. When she brings her hand to her cheek, the warm blood she touches confirms her suspicion.

Archer glances over his shoulder at her. His brows knit together seeing the distressed look on her face and Solomon takes the opportunity to punch Archer off him. Solomon rolls away from Archer and stands up quickly. His chest is pounding and he struggles to slow his breathing.

"Miss Bowen," he says, going to her side.

"Get away from her, Solomon!"

Archer pushes himself off the floor and walks over to her. When he extends his hand down to her, she turns away from him and picks herself off the floor. Archer hears her draw in a hiccuped breath and his stomach drops.

"Miss Bowen," Solomon says in a low voice. "Let me help you."

"No I'm fine," she replies quickly, shaking her head. She starts in the direction of the bathroom. "I'm fine, go back to sleep, Solomon."

"Miss Bo—"

"I'm fine, really."

"Maddy," Archer's strides are wide and he puts his hand on the back of her shoulder.

This time, Maddy is the one who is quick to turn around and swat his hand away. In the faint light of the apartment, he can see the shine beneath her eyes and the way her neck tenses with a choked back sob. He shakes his head apologetically and goes to open his mouth, but Maddy reaches into the pocket of her pajama pants and throws a small card at him. It falls to the floor by his feet as she storms off into the bathroom. The door slams and the lock clicks and Archer stands listening to the tap running.

He bends over and picks the card up. He's both dismayed and pleased to see _Anthony Peters_ written on it in thin black type. Under his name are two numbers and an address. This is the card he was looking for — Maddy had it all along. He feels even worse knowing she must have known to keep it on her instead of in her bag to avoid having it stolen. He slides it into his pocket and licks his lips. He can taste blood, but not enough to put him off.

He makes his way to the bathroom and leans his forehead against the closed door. He knocks twice.

"Maddy," he says.

The water from the tap stops. He hears her walk away from the door, presumably to get a towel. He listens to her light footsteps for a moment before the tap is turned on again.

"Maddy," he repeats. "Maddy, let me in."

Archer knocks twice more. He stands independent from the door and paces around in circles. The steady flow of the water in the sink is interrupted every few seconds when Maddy puts the corner of the towel under the tap. He goes back over to the door, and just before he knocks again, he hears the lock click open. He put his hand on the doorknob and twists it to push the door open slowly.

Maddy is leaning over the counter with her face close to the mirror as she dabs her gash gently. The towel she's using is blotched with blood, and though the sight of blood is nothing new to Archer, it bothers him knowing it's Maddy's blood. He scans her face and notices her eyes — it's clear that she's been crying. Archer steps into the bathroom with his tail between his legs and closes the door behind him. He leans back on it as he chews on the insides of his cheeks.

"I've been to Bosnia and Afghanistan and Africa," she says thoughtfully, eyes fixed on her reflection in the mirror. Her voice is raspy with a mixture of sleep and distress. "I've been in the middle of wars… and never, ever have I been injured on such a regular basis."

Archers swallows.

"You have what you were looking for in my bag," she tells him.

"Maddy," her name falls out of his mouth saturated with guilt. "Maddy, look at me for a second, huh."

She doesn't respond. She just keeps dabbing the corner of the towel against her cut without so much as a flinch or a hiss. Maddy is just as stubborn as Archer is, he sees this now. He steps towards her and wraps one hand around her wrist and uses the other to take the towel from her. She does nothing to protest when he puts her hand down to her side. He lowers his head hoping to catch her gaze but she squeezes her eyes closed. He watches as her lashes thicken with tears. She hiccups in a strained inhale when she feels two big tears roll down her face.

Archer swallows hard. He licks his lips and tastes the sharp coppery taste of his own blood. He reaches up to Maddy's cheek and gently brushes his thumb over the apple of her cheek. His pinky finger grazes the smooth line of her jaw as she chokes in a ragged inhale. She sniffles furiously and shakes her head away from his hand, but Archer's contact with her skin doesn't break. His fingers find their way to her chin and he tilts her head just slightly enough for him to bow his own head down to kiss the tender skin around her injury. The sharp smell of her blood makes the insides of his nostrils tingle.

"Maddy," he speaks quietly as his lips hover near her face. "Open your eyes, huh?"

She shakes her head and sucks her lips in. Archer clenches his jaw and sighs. He drops his hand from her face to her shoulders. He turns her around so that her back is facing the mirror, and without warning, he lifts her up by her hips so that she's sitting on the counter. Maddy's eyes open in surprise and she catches Archer's glare. He averts his eyes quickly as he takes up the towel to hold under the tap as he twists the handle for hot water. He wets the towel and then brings it up to her cheek.

"Let me clean you up, huh."


	18. Chapter 18

**Eighteen**

Maddy wakes up in the middle of her own bed, and for a moment, she can't recall how she ended up there. She sits up and massages her temples gently as last night's happenings enter her mind. She replays the evening as though she's watching a tape being projected onto the backs of her eyelids. The fight between Solomon and Archer. The accidental punch from Archer. Storming into the bathroom. Archer circling around outside like a tiger waiting for its prey to come out of hiding. Letting Archer in. Archer cleaning her cheek. Archer embracing her. Archer putting her into bed. Archer being human. She opens her eyes and looks around her apartment.

In the first rays of light of the morning, everything seems peaceful. She pushes the blankets off her legs as she swings them over the edge of the bed to get up. Her vision clouds for a moment and she closes her eyes until she regains her composure. She strolls into the kitchen and realizes that Solomon is awake and sitting watching the television on mute.

"Good morning," she smiles.

"Good morning, Miss Bowen," he replies. He leaves the sofa to sit at the stool in front of the counter.

"I hope Archer didn't cause you any harm last night, Solomon…"

Solomon shakes his head. "He has caused you more harm than he caused me."

Maddy nods lamely. "Did you sleep on the sofa last night?"

"Yes, Mister Archer put you into your bed where you belong."

"Where's Archer right now?"

There's a pause before Solomon opens his mouth to answer. It's not a particularly long or unusual pause, but its sheer existence after her question and before his response makes Maddy's stomach drop. She puts her palms flat on the cool countertop and looks at Solomon seriously.

"He went out."

"Where did he go, Solomon?"

Solomon raises his shoulders. "He did not tell me when I asked him, Miss Bowen."

"Did he take anything with him?"

"His diamonds, that is all."

"When did he leave?"

"After he put you in your bed to sleep."

Maddy lets out a lengthy exhale.

"He was very sorry for hurting you, Miss Bowen."

Maddy swallows. "He didn't mention anything about where he was going?"

Solomon shakes his head apologetically.

She leaves her spot behind the counter to head to the elevator door. "My fridge and pantry are full of food, Solomon," she says as she shoves her feet into her shoes, "make yourself whatever you feel like having. I have to go find Archer."

"Miss Bowen," Solomon rises from his seat. "Mister Archer told me to tell you not to go after him."

"Why not?"

Solomon is silent.

"So he went back to Africa, then?"

Solomon remains silent and that's all the answer she needs. She steps into the elevator with her heart in her throat and presses the button to the main floor impatiently. She doesn't look up at Solomon sitting by the counter as the elevator doors close. The elevator feels as though it's moving at a glacial pace and when the doors finally open into the lobby, Maddy practically sprints out. She isn't halfway across the lobby when she feels a strong hand grab her hand. She spins around, eyes blurry with frustration.

"Maddy!"

"Richard!"

"I just called up for you," he says to her, releasing her hand. "What happened to your face? It looks like it got worse since I last saw you."

"These cuts get worse before they get better," she answers quickly. "It looks a lot more serious than it is, it's almost healed."

Richard nods as he looks her up and down curiously. "I came by to ask if you had your story…I tried your cellphone earlier but there was no answer. I was hoping to get your article into this month's issue instead of next month's… you said the other day you had it pretty much done, so I figured you'd be all right with the early submission."

Her article is the last thing she was expecting to talk about this morning and it takes her a moment to switch gears into her business state of mind. She runs her fingers through her hair and assumes the part of Maddy Bowen, Vital Affairs Journalist.

"Remind me when the deadline for this issue is?"

"Nine tomorrow night," he tells her. "The last Friday of the month, same as usual."

She smiles and nods. "Of course. I'll have it on your desk with the accompanying photographs tomorrow morning before you even get in to work."

"Perfect, that's exactly the answer I was hoping for this morning," he grins and nods, clearly pleased with her answer. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time, you seemed to be in a rush."

"Oh no," she shakes her head. "I was just on my way out for a walk."

"In your pajamas?"

She looks down at herself and then back up at Richard. "It's laundry day today," she responds cooly. "You know how it is sometimes."

They share a polite laugh before Richard leaves. Maddy heads over to the concierge to ask if they know anything about Archer and his whereabouts. He tells her that he saw Archer leave late last night. Maddy's heart is pounding as he speaks.

"He smoked around outside the revolving door for almost an hour before security told him to leave… we have our no smoking policy, you see," he explains to Maddy, who just nods. "He walked down the street and hailed down a cab."

"And that's it?"

"Yes, that's it," the concierge says.


	19. Chapter 19

**Nineteen**

Archer has a sinking feeling when he steps off the plane and onto African soil. The dirt crunches under his boot and he draws the hot air deep into his lungs before lighting a cigarette. He adjusts his sunglasses and turns to his partner, the Egyptian named Ameni.

"Welcome home, Danny," he says after killing the engine. He hops out and around the plane to Archer.

"Ja, welcome home," Archer nods, blowing smoke out of his nostrils.

"How was your time in America?" Ameni asks as he pulls a cigarette out of his own pocket.

Archer waves his hand as though clearing dust from in front of his face. He'd rather not talk about his 'time in America'. It was uneventful and stressful and it was more of a waste than anything. Ameni takes his cue and falls silent as he sucks on his cigarette. The two men walk side by side until they reach rocks worth sitting on. Ameni lowers himself onto a flat one and looks up at Archer.

"What now, Danny?"

"I need a buyer for my stones," he says. He looks at the ash of his cigarette before flicking it away.

"Do you still have the pink?"

"Ja, ja, what do you think, Am?" He looks at the man before kissing the back of his teeth with annoyance. "I don't want a buyer for that one."

"You're not going to sell it?"

He shook his head. "Not yet, bru."

"I have someone in Cape Town who might be interested in your diamonds, Danny."

"Cape Town?"

Ameni nods.

"Who is he, huh?"

"He's got ties to Van de Kaap."

"He's a middle man, then."

"Of sorts, yes," Ameni nods again. "He can get you a pretty penny for your rocks. He'll keep you anonymous, Danny"

"What's his name?"

"Max."

"Max, huh," Archer sucks in the last breath of nicotine from his cigarette before flicking the butt away. "Never heard of him before."

"I've known him for a while, he's good for his word."

"I want to meet him, Am, arrange it for tonight."

"What happened to that journalist girl?" Ameni asks as he nods.

Archer looks at him. Ameni feels like Archer is about to pull a gun out to shoot him right in the head.

"Did she live?"

Archer nods.

"Is she still in America?"

"If you were so interested in her, I would have left her your card," Archer says dryly.

Ameni shakes his head. "What about Solomon, the black man?"

"He's in America waiting for his family," he says shortly. "Are you done with the questions, Am? Christ, bru."

"Are you going back to your old apartment?"

He shakes his head as he marches down a dirt path down the side of the mountain. "I'm going to find a new place, huh, keep your phone on."


	20. Chapter 20

**Twenty**

Maddy doesn't leave New York without seeing a few last tasks to their end. Before anything else, Maddy picks her photographs up from the developers and sorts through them to decide which ones she will have to accompany her story in the magazine. The chore takes up most of her morning. With the stack of chosen photos sitting neatly at the corner of her desk, she finishes typing up her story before brushing through it to edit and change anything that doesn't read right.

While she's putting the last touches on her piece, the phone rings with news of the arrival of Solomon's family. The call couldn't have come at a better time. She arranges to meet them at the airport, and as soon as she hangs up, she informs Solomon of the news and they leave her apartment immediately.

The affair in the airport terminal is an emotional one and Maddy was swelling with happiness for Solomon and his wife and his children. They remain in the airport for just under an hour before she sends them off in a cab to a hotel suite near her apartment. She tells them that she will put them up for as long as they require until they find a place of their own. Maddy has provided Solomon with all that he needs to find a job and a new home — funding and important contacts — so now, it's just a matter of time. He is grateful for her and he thanks her profusely before they part ways.

Maddy's next order of business is to complete her story. She does so soon after she gets back to her apartment and then she wastes no time leaving again to head to Vital Affairs HQ. She meets up with Richard, who is pleased to see her before she promised him the story, and submits her piece. She then requests a month long leave of absence and Richard is more than happy to accommodate. He grants her the leave, they deal with the appropriate paperwork, and then she's on her way again back to her apartment to pack a travel bag.

She takes only what she can carry on her back and that consists of nothing more than one change of clothes, a dozen rolls of film and her beloved travel camera, her notebooks, and a canteen of water with a few soup packets. Maddy is on the move again, but this time, her phone is glued to her ear as she waves down a taxi. She arranges a press flight to Sierra Leone en route to a private Vital Affairs Magazine owned airport and, much to her delight, everything is in line for her departure in only a few minutes.

Maddy arrives in Africa early the next morning with the same knots in her stomach that she had the very first time she touched down on the red sand. With her hair slicked back into a tight bun and her bag hanging off her shoulder, she racks her brain trying to devise a plan — or at least something vaguely akin to a plan — to try and find Archer. The war torn land is nowhere to be without a course of action and Maddy knows this, so she decides to not rush herself.

She remains at the UNICEF base camp she touched down in to assist with aid to refugees. She figures she'd be able to make her presence in the area valuable while sparing herself some time to think about how she was going to track a single man in a country of millions while the threat of capture, torture, and death loomed over her head.

She asks some of the workers about Archer but the answers to her questions come up fruitless. She stays the night and then leaves early the next day for the heart of the city the next morning. The landscape is somewhat familiar and, with the help of a map and a compass, she navigates her way to where she needs to be.

She travels alone in the thick forest and down abandoned roads passed ruined villages and destroyed buildings taking photographs and making notes in her journals. A shower of bullets and bombs echoes in the distance as Maddy settles under a tree in the jungle for a moment of rest and the sound makes her skin crawl. She can't help but wonder if she's made a mistake, but with an optimistic shake of her head, the thought passes as she leans her head back against the trunk of the tree. She stays in the shade for almost an hour before getting up and pressing on.

After several hours of walking, she reaches the part of the city that she remembers as the place where she and Archer first met. M'Ed's bar has been reduced to nothing but a pile of rubble under the unrelenting forces of the RUF, but her days there, good and bad, are still very fresh in her mind. She's overwhelmed by a sick feeling of longing as she walks by and as a reflex, her camera is up and she snaps a handful of photographs before continuing on.

When night falls for the second time since Maddy's arrival, she finds herself making the strange decision to sleep in an abandoned jeep on the side of a road that looks like it hasn't been used in a while. There are no fresh tire tracks anywhere nearby and there is even new foliage growing at the road's edge. She knows the jeep is the furthest thing from safe or comfortable, but she is exhausted and the back seat, which has stiffened to feel like it has been filled to capacity with sand, will suffice for the night.

Maddy is a blink away from sleep when she hears footsteps coming down the path she came down. At first, she thinks it might just be an animal, but the steps are too even and consistent to belong to something nonhuman. The footsteps slow as they approach the car but then stop outside the car door at her head. She holds her breath and forces her eyes open as she listens more closely.

Step. Step. Step.

Whoever is outside the car is right at the door now and after a moment of silence, she can hear their labored breathing. Maddy's heart is so thick in her throat that she chokes in a strained gasp. Every image of torture and pain her mind can conjure up flash through her mind as the door swings open. It takes Maddy a few seconds to register the sensation of the hot barrel of a gun digging into the soft skin of her temple.

"I should just shoot you right here, huh."

The familiarity of the voice makes her ears ring. Archer is standing over her, gun still against her temple, with a glare that could melt the polar ice caps. He shoves his gun into the back of his pants and leans into the car to grab Maddy by her biceps to pull her out. He pins her against the rusty side of the car with his hands squeezing her biceps so hard that she lets out a cry.

"How did you find me?"

He kisses the back of his teeth and shakes his head knowingly. "You think I don't know when the little American planes full of journalists come and go?" He scoffs in her face.

Maddy swallows. He reeks of alcohol and cigarettes. "You're drunk."

"No, Miss Bowen," he barks. "I am not."

"You are," she gasps insistently.

"Maybe you're the one who's drunk," he retorts. "Because no one with a sober mind would come back to this godforsaken place."

"You came back!"

He laughs sardonically and clenches his jaw so hard that Maddy hears his teeth grind. He releases her arms with a slight push before pounding his fist through the window of the car. Maddy flinches out of the way and doubles over as she brings her arm up to her head out of reflex. Archer grabs her arm again and straightens her against the side of the car.

"Archer!"

"Shut up!" He hisses, his face an inch away from hers.

"Archer, you're hurting me!"

Maddy is frantic now and she can't catch her breath. Archer's grip is so tight on her bicep that she feels like he's about to shatter her bone. Without another word, he jerks her away from the car and pushes her towards the jungle.

"Walk," he grunts. He reaches into the car and grabs her bag to throw at her.

"To where?" She catches her things with a gasp.

"Just walk!"

Not wanting to get on his bad side now, Maddy composes herself and walks in the direction she was shoved in. She adjusts the strap of her bag over her shoulder and rubs the sides of her arms. Her insides are trembling and her heart is still pounding up against the back of her ribs. Even her ears are ringing still.

Archer walks several steps behind Maddy breathing like he'd just strangled someone. The only sound between them after a few minutes is the sand crunching under each step. She hears the tear of fabric behind her and she stops and turns around to look at Archer.

In the thick darkness of the night, she can see the streaks of blood on Archer's wrist and forearm and she knows immediately that he must have cut his hand when he punched the window out. His face is still with indifference as he wraps the strip of his button down shirt around his knuckles. He flexes his fingers before balling them into a fist. Blood soaks through the fabric instantly.

"You're hurt, Archer."

He looks up at her, narrowing his eyes.

"You cut yourself."

"Ja, Miss Bowen," he spits to the side as he closes the gap between himself and Maddy. "Your hero complex is showing."


	21. Chapter 21

**Twenty One**

Archer's apartment smells like it was painted with alcohol. The stench is so strong that Maddy's eyes water as she walks in. She clears her throat and blinks rapidly. Archer growls out a throaty laugh behind her as he closes and locks the door. Maddy stands in her place and Archer pushes past her to walk into the bedroom through the small living room.

"Are you going to lock your knees and sleep in the hallway like a horse?" He calls from the bedroom.

Maddy shakes her head and follows in his footsteps slowly. In front of her, she hears another door open followed by a click. A moment passes before the dim glow from the bathroom manages barely illuminate her path. She enters the bedroom and leans against the doorframe as she looks around. There's a small television on an upside-down milk crate in one corner with a mini fridge next to it and a chair with clothes hanging off it in another. Archer's 'bed' is a mattress with a single pillow and a handful of blankets and a towel strewn over it.

"Make yourself comfortable huh," Archer says in a low voice. Maddy hears a glass bottle being put down on porcelain before the click of a bottle cap echoes from the sink. "I might even telephone for some room service for you, Miss Bowen."

Maddy shakes her head again, not appreciating the sarcasm. She folds her arms tight across her chest and is quickly reminded of how tender her biceps still are. Brushing over them with the tips of her fingers, she can feel they are swollen and probably bruised. She stands over Archer's bed. She can't say that she's surprised over the state of his home — if she can even call it that — but something about the space feels wrong and Maddy refuses to believe that Archer would live in such plight.

She hears him hiss and groan in the bathroom as something splashes into the sink. He's breathing through his teeth when she turns her attention to the bathroom door. A tall bottle of Russian vodka stands pure and clear on the side of Archer's sink and Maddy assumes he must be using the drink in place of rubbing alcohol on whatever cut he gave himself earlier. Maddy doesn't even have a chance to stop herself before her feet start moving towards the bathroom. She leans against the doorframe and watches him in the mirror.

Archer stops what he's doing when he feels Maddy's presence behind him and raises his eyes to meet hers in the reflection. His face is pale and he has big beads of sweat hanging from his forehead and temples. He licks his lips and grins like the devil on a hot day.

"Thirsty, Miss Bowen?" He grabs the bottle of vodka by the neck and spins around as he takes a deep swig.

Between Archer's bloody fist and the unnatural grin on his face, Maddy's stomach turns. She glances into the dirty, bloody sink behind him for only a moment before she fixes her eyes on his face. His eyebrows raise expectantly as he thrusts the bottle towards her.

"Don't be scared, Maddy," he growls.

She shakes her head sternly. "I don't want any of that poison."

"It's only vodka, Miss Bowen!"

"I said I don't want any," she answers firmly.

Archer goes to raise the bottle to his mouth, but Maddy seizes it from his hands and holds it down by her waist. Archer looks at her with a mixture of drunken confusion and anger. His eyes soften for a moment before he lunges forward for the bottle. Maddy is quick to step back and hold the bottle behind her and out of Archer's reach.

"Maddy," he says in a low grumble of a voice. "I will snap you like a branch if you don't give me that fucking bottle back."

Maddy shakes her head. "I think you've had enough to drink tonight."

"I have not!" He yells emphatically.

He throws himself forward and grabs the front of Maddy's shirt before she can take another step back. He pulls her in aggressively so that he can tear the bottle from her grip. Maddy gasps and squeezes her eyes shut, half expecting a punch or a slap to the face. Archer, still holding her shirt in his tight fist, drinks the rest of the vodka in the bottle before shattering the bottle against the doorframe near Maddy to prove a point. The glass explodes everywhere and the shattered neck of the bottle slices a new gash into Archer's palm. In his rage, though, he doesn't feel the cut.

"You're in my fucking house now," he slurs angrily.

"Archer!" Maddy yelps.

"Do you understand me?"

"Archer!" She opens her eyes and looks at him as she wraps her hands around the hand he's holding her shirt with. "Stop yelling at me, Archer!"

He shakes Maddy's hands from his own as though her palms are made of fire. He gives her chest a small shove before stumbling back against the sink. His bloody hand slips across the porcelain and he leans lopsidedly on the pedestal. He groans when he realizes his palm is bleeding. He wipes it down the front of his shirt and Maddy cringes.

"Let me clean you up," she says quickly. She steps forward cautiously, glass popping and breaking under her shoes, and takes his wrist. "You're going to get this infected."

"I don't fucking care," he grumbles.

"Archer, please," she sounds out of breath, panicked. "Let me clean up your hand."

She reaches behind him to turn the tap of the sink, but no water comes from the tap. She twists the other tap and listens to the pipes tremble and groan in the walls. Archer laughs pathetically. He loses his balance and falls to the floor against the side of the bathtub. He reaches into the dirty tub and pulls an empty bottle of vodka out. He drops his head back and holds the bottle above his mouth half-expecting a cool flow of alcohol to fall between his lips. Maddy watches him sadly. Her heart aches for him. He throws the empty bottle back to its resting place before closing his eyes and breathing in through his nose.

"...s'fucking hot in here, huh?"

Maddy nods. "Yes it is, Archer."

"Fucking hot," he shakes his head.

He opens his eyes and Maddy is alarmed at how bloodshot they are. She kneels down in front of Archer as he closes his eyes again. He turns his head away from her. Maddy extends her hands to his cheeks. He flinches when he feels her touch initially but he leans into her palm after a moment.

"I've got a first aid kit in my bag," she says to him in a low voice. "I'm going to clean your hand up."

Maddy stands and leaves the bathroom to get her first aid kit from her bag. She's sweating all over from the heat and from what just happened between her and Archer, but she composes herself quickly. She knows that Archer is drunker than he probably has ever been and she puts his exaggerated anger down to the alcohol. She returns to the bathroom a few minutes later. Archer is still leaning against the tub with his hand bleeding profusely on his lap. There's blood everywhere.

"I'm going to disinfect your hand, Archer," Maddy informs him as she gets back down on her knees in front of him.

When she looks at his face, she sees the sweat dripping down from his forehead. His cheeks are red and his eyes are closed and he's breathing as though he just ran a mile.

"This fucking heat, huh," he groans. He tugs at the collar of his shirt weakly as he shifts in his spot.

"I'll take your shirt off for you," she says carefully.

She begins undoing each button individually, but Archer swats her hand away and pulls it open. Several buttons pop off his shirt and bounce around the dirty floor. Maddy moves closer to push his shirt back off his shoulders, but even when it's off, Archer feels little relief. His face twists into a look of pure discomfort and he shakes his head dully.

"Maddy," he whines.

"I know, Archer" she sighs sympathetically.

She leaves the bathroom again to go back to her bag. She pulls her phone out and telephones the UNICEF camp she was at a couple days prior for a Jeep to come pick them up. She's afraid that Archer has alcohol poisoning, and without water in the hot, muggy apartment, his condition could worsen and he would become devastatingly ill. She's relieved to hear that a car would be there within the next hour to get them. She returns back to the bathroom just in time to hold Archer's head above the toilet for him to throw up.


	22. Chapter 22

**Twenty Two**

Between being harshly awoken by Archer in the back of the Jeep and seeing him finally asleep on a canvas cot, Maddy feels like an eternity has passed. Her sleepless bones ache with exhaustion and her joints feel as though they're crystalizing. She lowers herself onto the cot next to Archer's and lies on her side to look him over.

He's lying on his back with his bandaged hand on his stomach and a cold compress over his forehead and eyes. His body is slick with a thin layer of sweat and he appears to be trembling. He's hooked up to an IV and Maddy can rest easy knowing that he's getting rehydrated after throwing up and dry heaving non-stop for the past several hours. She was right in her suspicion of him having alcohol poisoning and she's glad that she phoned for proper medical attention instead of trying to care for him by herself. She's even relieved thinking about his hand being thoroughly cleaned and sanitized and stitched up before being dressed.

Archer's body twitches suddenly and he draws in an inhale that makes every tendon in his neck tense, but he relaxes quickly and continues sleeping. The convulsion frightens Maddy and she sits up to look down at him. She sighs heavily and rolls her shoulders back and forth before lying back down. She closes her eyes and is asleep instantly.

The next time she rouses, there is a breeze coming in through the main entrance of the tent and a nurse is changing Archer's IV. She smiles when she sees Maddy's eyes open.

"Good morning, Miss Bowen."

"Oh… good morning," Maddy says sleepily. She sits up and runs her hands through her hair several times before redoing her bun.

"I trust you slept well?"

Maddy nods as she stands. "Very well, thank you."

The nurse bows her head. She checks the needle in Archer's forearm and then scans him studiously. She presses two fingers to his wrist and looks down at her watch for a short while.

"Ah yes," she says with ease. "He is doing well this morning."

Maddy lets out a relieved exhale.

"If it would please you to eat or drink, there is food available in the dining tent," the nurse tells Maddy.

"I'll fix myself a plate shortly," Maddy answers with a grateful smile.

The nurse nods to Maddy and then leaves the tent. Maddy stretches her arms over her head as she walks around the tent. Archer is still dead asleep in his cot and Maddy doesn't want to leave for fear of having him wake up while she's gone. She knows the dining tent is just a short walk away and that she could be there and back within five minutes, but she doesn't want to risk going. She peers out the flap of the tent and looks around.

It's hot and sunny and bright outside. The Africa she sees this morning is beautiful and vibrant and it reminds Maddy that the continent has more to offer than war and tragedy. She touches her forehead and looks over her shoulder at Archer. He has more to offer than violence, she knows it. She rubs her tender biceps before pulling her t-shirt sleeves up. Just as she expected, she has bruises where Archer grabbed her last night. She thinks little of them as she returns to her cot.

She scoops Archer's rough hand in hers and brushes her fingers lightly over his knuckles. They're freshly scabbed and Maddy wonders how many fights he managed to get in since arriving back in Africa. She thinks about what sort of damage he did in the short time that he had been back home. Had he stolen more diamonds? Had he stolen weapons? Had he killed anyone?

Archer's brows furrow suddenly and a groan forms deep in his throat. It leaves his lips as a cough and his eyes shoot open. Maddy releases his hand slowly but Archer's fingers clamp down on Maddy's almost as a reflex.

"Maddy," he croaks.

"I'm right here, Archer."

"Ma-ddy," he hiccups.

"Archer," she frowns delicately. "Everything is okay, calm down."

He writhes on his back in the cot while he gains his bearings. He realizes that he's no longer in his apartment but remembering how he left is another story entirely. He blinks furiously and breathes slowly to slow his pounding heart down. He feels frantic for no reason. He squeezes Maddy's hand and loosens his grip when he focuses his stinging eyes on her face. He looks every inch of her complexion over for a fresh gash or cut or bruise, but when he notices that the only blemish on her is her old gash, he laughs dryly and swallows hard. Maddy is confused.

"I didn't get you last night, huh?"

Maddy turns slightly and pulls her t-shirt sleeve up to show him her bruises. His eyes narrow apologetically and he closes his eyes. Maddy lets the sleeve fall back into place.

"I've been through worse," she tells him. She pats the top of his hand before touching his bandaged hand. "You got yourself pretty bad last night, though."

"Ja, seems like it," he holds his gauzed hand up. "Remind me how it happened."

"Well," she starts. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Archer thinks for a moment. He clears his throat and opens his mouth. "I blew a lot of cash on vodka… and then I found you sleeping in the back of a Jeep…"

Maddy nods. "You punched the window in and cut your knuckles. Then you lead me back to your apartme—"

"That wasn't my apartment."

"Back to your living space, then."

He shakes his head and the familiar sound of Archer kissing the back of his teeth greets Maddy like a kiss. "It was just an empty room I found, huh."

Maddy nods. "Okay… you took me there and tried cleaning yourself up with the vodka. I didn't want you to infect your cut so I tried to take the bottle from you and that upset you… quite a bit," Maddy laughs and shakes her head. "You grabbed me and took the bottle back and shattered it on the door frame, which is how you cut your palm. Then you collapsed and complained about the heat and began throwing up."

Archers cringes, more out of embarrassment than painful recollection.

"I called for UNICEF medics to come pick us up and now you're here."

He sighs. "Maddy."

"Yes?"

"Why did you follow me back here, huh?"

Maddy is bemused by the question. "What do you mean?"

"I left New York for a reason."

"To come back here and drink yourself to death?"

"No," he kisses the back of his teeth again.

He pulls his hand from Maddy's to use to push himself up into a sitting position. He hunches over for a second before straightening his back and looking at Maddy. She's watching him expectantly.

"I left New York to leave you, a'right?"

"That was your idea of breaking up?"

He scoffs. "Don't flatter yourself, Miss Bowen, there wasn't anything to break up."

Maddy is hurt before she recalls her triumphant speech about not wanting to be dependent on Archer and not liking the way he was looking at her. She realizes that her being so self-absorbed and arrogant may have pushed him away and her heart sinks a little. She sucks her lips in. Archer looks away from her to lip his own dry lips. He leans over the cot and spits onto the sand.

"My mouth is as dry as this continent, huh, is there any UNICEF water designated for the local peasants?"


	23. Chapter 23

**Twenty Three**

Archer is given a clean bill of health before noon and he tugs the needle from his forearm in celebration, much to the chagrin of the supervising doctor and nurse. He swings his legs over the edge of the cot and stands with the confidence of a god. He runs his good hand through his sweaty hair before putting on the shirt the nurse hands him. It's a plain blue t-shirt that Archer seems to wear like a medal. He walks out of the tent in front of Maddy, who follows him out quickly.

"What now?" She asks him with slight urgency.

Archer feels the pockets of his jeans before frowning. "I need cigarettes, huh. You think this camp has a secret stash?"

"No," she answers lamely.

He clicks his tongue against the back of his teeth.

"That's not what I meant," Maddy says.

Archer begins walking and Maddy is right beside him. She looks up at him frequently, but his eyes are fixed forward and squinting to keep the sun out of them.

"What did you mean, then, Miss Bowen?"

"Where are you going now?"

"Back to that room to get what's mine," he answers. "And you're going to stay here and get on the next plane out."

Maddy shakes her head. "Absolutely not."

He growls. His jaw tenses. He stops walking and turns to face Maddy completely.

"If you're staying, I'm staying."

"What about Solomon, huh? You left your apartment to him?"

"He's with his family," she tells him. Those words sting Archer like a knife to the stomach. "I put them up in a hotel in New York. He's looking for his own home and a new job. He's starting a new life."

"That must be doing wonders for your hero complex, Miss Bowen."

"Would you stop saying that?" Maddy exasperates, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Please, just stop saying that! I don't have a hero complex!"

Maddy feels her voice crack and she knows Archer heard it because of the way his mouth tenses. The burning of tears boiling behind her eyes makes her look down at her feet as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. Archer is just standing in front of her stone faced. She clears her throat and blinks rapidly before looking back up at Archer.

"What do you want from me, huh?"

"I just want you to be safe and okay and happy," she says in a small voice. Her eyes glass over again and she shakes her head. "I don't want you to be here, I want you to be in New York, with me."

Archer scoffs and shakes his head before continuing to walk. Maddy knows she's grasping at straws now.

"Archer!"

"I'm not leaving to go back to New York," he tells her. "Get that shiny idea out of your little head, Miss Bowen."

"Why won't you come to New York? Is it because of what I said to you?"

Another scornful laugh. He shakes his head and quickens his steps. "Ja, Miss Bowen, your hurtful American words really did a number on me."

Maddy is almost jogging to keep up with him. "Will you be serious for a second?" she asks, grabbing for his arm.

Archer turns and hits her hand away hard enough to make her knuckles sting. She withdraws her hand close to her body and watches as his jaw clenches. His nostrils flare and he closes his eyes in place of really hurting her. He swallows and then opens his eyes to look at her.

"I am being very serious right now, a'right?" he growls.

He closes the gap between them and lowers his head so that his face is an inch away from Maddy's. She can feel his hot breath on her cheek and the back of her neck heats up.

"You got your story and you saved Solomon, huh, isn't that enough for you?"

She shakes her head.

"You can't save everyone, Miss Bowen," he says pointedly.

"Especially someone that doesn't want to be saved, right?" Maddy interjects quickly.

His jaw tenses. His fists clench. He steps back to compose his anger before putting his finger firmly into her shoulder for a moment before pointing behind her to the UNICEF camp.

"Get lost before you get yourself killed."

"By you?"

"Don't test me, Maddy," he tells her warningly. He grabs her chin and turns her head to look at the gash he gave her. "I can do much worse than this little scratch."

Maddy shakes her head from his hand. "If you go, I'm going to follow you…I don't care what happens to me."

"The careless American hero, huh?" He taunts her.

"I'm not a hero," she tells him, voice tight. "What do I have to say to prove to you that I really care about you?"

"Don't say anythin—"

"What do I have to do, then?"

"Fuck off back to America, a'right?" He grabs her shoulder and turns her back towards the camp.

"I said I'm not going back!" She yells.

A small crowd of aid workers turn their attention towards Maddy and Archer arguing. They look between each other as if to decide who was going to intervene if things became too heated. No one makes any moves to help, but they all continue to watch. Maddy and Archer are oblivious to the eyes on them.

"I'm in too deep to just leave and go about my life," Maddy says pressingly. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left and something happened to you because of my story. You said it yourself, Archer, as soon as it gets out, you're as good as dead."

"Maybe that's my happy ending, huh."

His words rock her to her core. Her eyes overflow with tears and she wipes them away with embarrassment. She draws in a shaky inhale and lowers her head with defeat. She's afraid that Archer is really going to leave and then she'll really have to go back to New York without him. She can feel him slipping away from her and she can barely catch her breath.

Archer watches her hands and shoulders tremble. He's chipped away at her for so long and now she's collapsing and crumbling to nothing right before his eyes. He looks beyond her and sees the group of workers watching them like a circus act. With a furrow of his brow and a tilt of his head, all eyes avert and the workers resume their duties. Archer clears his throat and spits to the side. He inhales through his nose and then steps close to Maddy. He puts his good hand on the back of her shoulder to pull her in to him.

Maddy presses her face into his chest before wrapping her arms around his mid. She squeezes him desperately. Archer wraps his own arm around her neck before lowering his head to press his nose into the top of Maddy's head.

"Do you see that I love you, Archer?" Maddy whimpers.

"Your big secret is out, huh?"


	24. Chapter 24

**Twenty Four**

Maddy and Archer walk, side by side, in silence, from the UNICEF camp back to Archer's sorry excuse for a living space. Archer steals glances at Maddy as they walk, but his eyes never rest on her face for more than a few seconds. Maddy's eyes are always down on her feet and she's none the wiser to these looks. Archer isn't quite sure what fine mess he's gotten himself into now, but unlike his previous commitment to New York, he feels slightly more at ease this time around. He shoved his good hand into his pocket and retrieves a pack of cigarettes. He pulls one out between his front teeth and lights it quickly.

The sharp smell of nicotine lures Maddy's eyes to Archer's lips, and then to his hand, and then to his eyes. He raises his eyebrows at her as he bites down on the filter of his cigarette. Two columns of smoke come barreling out of his nostrils.

"What?" Archer asks finally.

"Just looking," Maddy says with a half laugh.

Archer's grin is broad and knowing. "Just looking to look, right?"

"Right," she nods.

Her eyes soften with relief. She walks closer to Archer, the sides of their arms touching. She puts her eyes back down as Archer brings his hand up to rest his casted hand on the small of her back. Maddy relishes the sensation of the touch.

The two arrive at Archer's apartment several hours later, parched and hungry, sweaty and tired. Their entrance is greeted by the foul scent of alcohol and blood and vomit and it takes every muscle in Maddy's neck to suppress a gag. Archer simply lights another cigarette and goes to kneel down beside his mattress in. He fishes his switchblade from his pocket and slices open the side before reaching his good hand in.

"Pass me that towel, huh," Archer cocks his head to the side.

Maddy follows his head and sees a towel hanging off the back of a chair in the corner of the room. She leaves her post in the doorway to get it and hand it to Archer. He spreads it by his knees before stepping on one hand to tear a strip off. The sound of the fabric tearing rips through the silence and almost startles Maddy. Archer removes his hand from the mattress and drops dozens of tiny, sparkling rocks onto the strip.

"You wasted no time here, did you?"

Archer looks up at her and shakes his head as he feels around the inside of the mattress again.

"How many do you have in there?"

"Enough," he says as he rolls his cigarette from one corner of his mouth to the other. He twitches it with his tongue against the roof of his mouth and a small piece of ash falls off the end.

"I didn't think there was such a thing as enough diamonds for Danny Archer."

He grins and tilts his head to the side. "Maybe I'm full of surprises, huh?"

Maddy nods. Archer pulls another full handful of diamonds from the mattress before pushing them into a neat pile in the center of the strip of towel. He folds it and twists it and knots it securely before shoving the wad into his pocket. He pushes himself to his feet with a grunt.

"Right, Miss Bowen," he says matter of factly.

She raises her head.

Archer steps towards her and pulls a pistol from the back of his pants. "You know how to work one of these?"

Maddy looks down at the gun and nods slowly. She isn't trained in the art of firing a gun, but she has taken dozens of firearm lessons and she's good enough with a pistol to defend herself should the circumstance where she needed to arise. Archer thrusts it more towards her.

"Take it," he tells her.

Maddy takes the gun and holds it in both her hands. It's heavy and warm from being pressed between Archer's belt and his back. She slides it into the back of her pants, wincing when the metal scraped against her skin. She pulls her shirt over it and nods to Archer.

"Do you have something?"

Archer smirks and nods. He goes to his bed and bends over to pick up the pillow and pull a gun out. "Of course, Miss Bowen."

Maddy can't help but laugh at the strangeness of Archer pulling a gun out from his pillow. He retrieves two magazines and drops them into the side pocket of his pants before shoving the gun into his pants.

"What now?" She asks.

"We go," he answers, pointing to the door.

"Danny," Ameni appears in the doorway, hands by his sides.

"Ameni," Archer's back stiffens seeing the Egyptian man. He steps in front of Maddy. "What are you doing here, bru?"

"I should be asking you that question, Danny! You were going to leave without cutting me in on the diamonds?"

"Am, bru," Archer shakes his head in a friendly way. "I told you to keep your phone on."

"I've been waiting for your call for three days, Danny, don't fuck around with me!" He raises his hand and cocks the gun he's holding.

Archer puts a cautious hand behind his own back to keep a finger on a trigger of his own. He raises his casted hand to Ameni.

"We don't want to cause a scene, huh," Archer says in a low voice.

"Is that the American journalist behind you?" He turns his gun to her emphatically.

"Don't worry about her," Archer's voice darkens significantly and his knuckles whiten around the handle of his gun.

"I want to get out of here too, Danny," Ameni cries. "You think I like running around for you in this place?"

"Ameni," Archer presses. "Put the gun down and we'll talk."

"I'm done talking, Danny, I want my stones. I want to make money too!"

"I said put the gun down, bru."

Ameni shakes his head wildly. The gesture is enough to spook Archer into drawing his gun, and in a heartbeat's time, he aims and pulls the trigger and hits Ameni right through the top lip. Maddy jumps as Ameni collapses like a limp doll. Archer steps forward and tears his gun from his hands before turning back to Maddy as he rummages through Ameni's pockets. He pulls two sets of keys out and pockets both of them.

"Let's go," he barks. Putting Ameni's gun into his pocket and his own gun back in its place in the back of his pants, he gets up and holds his hand out to Maddy. "Now."


	25. Chapter 25

**Twenty Five**

Archer shows no remorse when he cracks and breaks the window of a Jeep parked in front of the apartment building. He knocks the glass in with his elbow and then reaches in to unlock the door. Unfazed by the glass on the seat, he gets in and leans over to unlock the passenger side door for Maddy to get in.

She opens the door slowly after looking over her shoulder to see if anyone saw them. No one around. She gets in as Archer pulls a panel off from underneath the steering wheel. He picks at the wires with the tip of his knife before tugging on them and twisting them together until the engine coughs to life. Archer picks the panel up from near his feet and snaps it back into place before sitting up and looking over at Maddy. He laughs out loud and outrageously when he sees her fastening her seatbelt. He shifts the car into gear and races down the street.

"You should wear your seatbelt too," Maddy says to him as she leans back against her seat.

She plucks a shard of glass off the center console and drops it by her feet. She folds her arms over her chest, looking around her to inspect for more glass.

"Ja, or else I'll get a ticket from the police?"

Maddy sighs. Archer looks over at her again.

"It's safer when you're wearing a seatbelt."

Archer lifts his shoulders. He continues driving with his eyes straight forward for a few minutes before deciding to put his belt on. The feeling of a strap across his chest and lap are foreign to him. He thinks back to the last time he wore a seatbelt, and the more he mulls over it, the more he's convinced that he's never actually worn one.

Maddy sees him put the belt on and she smiles gratefully as she rests her hands on her thighs.

"Ja ja," he kisses the back of his teeth. "Don't go rushing around telling anyone about my heart of gold, huh."

Maddy smirks. "Where are we going?"

"Airport."

"What airport?"

"Where Ameni has his plane."

"For what?"

"I know he's got more stones and cash in his plane," Archer tells Maddy.

"Archer," she frowns. "I thought you said you had enough."

No response.

"Archer."

"What, Maddy?"

"You said you had enough."

"What are rocks to a dead man, huh?"

"Pretty soon you'll be a dead man," she protests. "And then what use will you be?"

Archer bites down on his bottom lip.

"Turn around and go back to the UNICEF camp. We'll have food and water and a place to sleep while we wait for the press plane."

He shakes his head. "I need those stones, Maddy."

"How do you know that man's friends aren't waiting there to kill you when you arrive?"

"What friends?" he scoffs. "I was all he had."

"How do you know that?"

"I know," he says confidently.

"What if there isn't anything in the plane?"

He raises his shoulders.

"What if there isn't even a plane!"

"What about if the airport is gone too?" Archer asks her mockingly.

"Archer," she frowns.

"Just relax, a'right?"

With a sign, Maddy surrenders and turns her attention out the passenger side window. Archer continues driving in silence with one thumb on the bottom of the steering wheel and his other arm hanging out the window. They race along the sandy streets in the stolen Jeep for almost an hour before Archer pulls into the hangar's parking lot.

"Stay here," Archer says as he looks over at Maddy.

"I'm coming in with you," Maddy responds.

Archer shrugs a "suit yourself" shrug and gets out of the Jeep with Maddy following close behind. They enter the hangar to the sound of their own footsteps echoing around the vast space.

The hangar is filled with over a dozen small domestic planes, Ameni's plane among them. Archer rushes over to it as soon as he spots it. He pulls the keys out of his pocket and unlocks the door to pull himself up into the cockpit. He rummages around while Maddy stands under the wing looking around the hangar with her heart in her throat.

Archer's money and diamond search comes to a quick end and he emerges from the plane a moment later holding a wad of cash and a small velvet sack. In his back pocket, he has his passports and papers, all of which he found under the plane seat. Archer is grinning with self-satisfaction as he hops down and approaches Maddy.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

He nods as he shoves the cash and velvet sac into his already bulging pockets. "Ja, Miss Bowen, I did find what I was looking for."

Maddy is sure that on his person, he's carrying millions of dollars worth of diamonds. The thought scares her. She shakes her head at him and rubs the sides of her biceps.

"Let's get going then."

Just as Archer turns to shut the cockpit door, the metallic clink of a bullet ricocheting against steel sounds through the hangar. Archer lunges forward and grabs Maddy's arm to pull her down to the concrete floor.

"Chris," he growls as he pulls his gun.

"I told you, Archer!" Maddy exasperates.

"Shut up, Maddy, please!"

He pushes Maddy towards the landing gear as he looks around. He fires a single shot. More bullets are fired from the offender's gun in response, all of them bouncing around the hangar threateningly. Archer keeps a bullet count in his head as he fires a second shit. Three more shots are fired before there's a lull in the gunfire.

Archer reaches over and grabs Maddy's trembling hand to yank her up to her feet.

"Run and stay low," he tells her as they make a break for the door to the Jeep.

The silence lasts for only a few more seconds before another round of gunfire begins. Archer keeps looking behind him at Maddy as they weave between planes to keep themselves sheltered. Just as the Jeep comes into sight, Archer feels Maddy let go of his hand and he stops himself. He turns around quickly, and much to his vexation, Maddy is on the floor writing around holding her thigh.

"Christ, Maddy," he drops to his knees beside her and moves her bloody hands from her thigh. "Let me see, Maddy, let me see."

"Archer," she whimpers with panic. "Archer!"

"Move your hands, let me see how deep the shot is!"

Archer fingers her pants until he finds the bullet hole in them. He tears it wide open with a sharp tug and looks her thigh over. The bullet has only grazed her thigh, but the simple fact that she's injured leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

"A'right, come on," Archer gets up halfway before pulling Maddy over his shoulder.

Maddy yells out in pain as Archer continues his dash out of the hangar. Trying to be as careful as possible, he tosses Maddy into the back seat before climbing into the driver's seat. He changes gears aggressively before speeding out. The back window is shot out and Archer keeps his head low as he steers out of danger.

"There's glass all over me," Maddy cries.

He turns his head around to look at her. "You're fine, Maddy," he tells her as he turns to face the road again.


	26. Chapter 26

**Twenty Six**

A doctor emerges from the tent Maddy is in and approaches Archer. He folds his hands over the folder he's holding before speaking.

"Miss Bowen is just resting now, sir," he says.

Two nurses exit the tent and stand near the doctor as he flips through Maddy's medical folder. He glances through her papers for a moment before looking up at Archer, who's standing as rigid as a statue in front of him.

"The bullet didn't go through any main arteries in her leg, nor did it harm any bones. There was only tissue and muscular damage, so she won't be able to walk on it for a couple weeks. We've cleaned and dressed her wound. She's doing fine."

Archer nods with his lips slightly pursed.

"I can take a look at that hand for you," the doctor offers when he notes the blood seeping through the gauze wrapped haphazardly around Archer's hand.

Archer looks down at the dirty, bloody bandage. He frowns with frustration as he stretches his fingers before clenching them into a fist. His injury stings when he tenses the skin of his hand.

"It'll only take a minute," the doctor says when he sees Archer's apprehension. "I could do it inside Miss Bowen's tent if you would prefer to remain close to your friend."

"A'right, doc."

Archer flashes a vague smile of appreciation. He walks past the doctor and nurses and heads into the tent. The doctor dismisses the nurses to tend to other patients before turning and following Archer. He places Maddy's folder down on a table and then approaches the portable sink to scrub his hands. He dries them and pulls on a pair of new blue medical gloves.

"Just sit anywhere, sir," the doctor tells him. He grabs his kit and arranges his tools.

Archer looks around for a place to sit. He walks over to Maddy's cot and looks down at her with a heavy heart. Her eyes are closed and her face is void of any expression of pain or discomfort. She looks calm. Archer watches as her chest rises and falls and he feels relieved seeing her sleeping as peacefully as she is knowing how deep into hell he's dragged her. He's glad that she's finally resting. She deserves it, he tells himself.

Archer puts his good hand in his pocket and touches his diamonds to remind himself that all this suffering will be worth it. He swallows hard and turns around.

The doctor is still setting up all that he needs to tend to Archer, so Archer grabs a stool and puts it down near the table the doctor is at. The older man looks up at Archer as he arranges his tools in the order he'll need them in.

"Mr. Archer, is it?"

"That's right," Archer nods.

"My name is Dr. Manai," he introduces himself. "Let me take a look at that injury, Mr. Archer."

Archer picks his dirty, casted hand up and drops it on the table in front of Dr. Manai, who smiles and laughs as he picks up his scissors to begin cutting the old dressing off. He tosses it into the garbage and drops the scissors into a cup of disinfectant fluid. He picks up a cotton ball and dips it in hydrogen peroxide before dabbing Archer's gash. Archer hisses unexpectedly.

"It looks like you tore up the stitches," Dr. Manai says. "I'm going to have to cut these ones out and do them over again. I will also give you a hard cast to keep your hand more protected."

Archer nods lamely. He balls up his free hand on his knee under the table. The peroxide stings terribly, much more than he was expecting it to.

"How do you know Miss Bowen?" he asks. He takes a fresh cotton ball to continue disinfecting the gash in his palm.

"We're friends."

"Do you work together?"

Archer gives a half shrug. He isn't here to answer questions, but he knows that he's in no position to disrespect the man cleaning his wound. Instead of offering up his usual remarks of aversion, he looks the doctor in the face and licks his lips.

"I suppose you can say our jobs allowed our paths to cross," he says with sarcastic poetry.

"You're both journalists?"

"I'm in a different line of work," he says simply.

Dr. Manai smirks and nods. He takes the small scissors back out of the cup and plucks his tweezers from his kit. He begins cutting the old stitches out.

"Maddy is quite outstanding," Dr. Manai continues between snips. He's careful with his steady hands. "I've known her casually, she's a pleasure."

"You dated?" he demands.

"Oh, no," Dr. Manai laughs without smiling. "We've only known each other professionally. We've been assigned to the same conflict zones. I offer medical aid at the UNICEF camps and she volunteers between getting her stories and her photographs. She's fearless, you know, and about as kind as they come."

Archer looks down at his hand and watches as Dr. Manai snips and plucks out the remaining stitches. He licks his lips again. He looks away to Maddy while Dr. Manai dips a new cotton ball in peroxide to give the gash another wipe. Archer feels even more guilty now. Everyone speaks so highly of Maddy and that makes Archer feel undeserving of her company, let alone a relationship.

"How did you get a cut like this, Mr. Archer?"

"Long story."

The doctor nods.

"You're lucky you did not strike any tendons," the doctor says. "This cut is fairly deep."

Archer looks back at his hand as the doctor threads a needle to begin stitching him up. He nods and pulls a cigarette from his pocket. He puts his between his lips tentatively. He can hear Maddy's small voice in the back of his skull advising him not to smoke inside the tent. He tucks the cigarette behind his ear and sighs.

"Oh, I don't mind if you smoke in here," the doctor responds.

Archer shakes his head. "Maddy doesn't like it when I smoke."

"That's very considerate of you."

"Ja ja," he says with a throaty chuckle. "I'm a very considerate man."


	27. Chapter 27

Archer doesn't sleep a wink during the night. After the doctor wraps his hand in a fresh gauze and fits him with a hard cast, Archer remains wide awake inside the tent. Pacing around. Sitting near Maddy. Pacing around. Looking over Maddy. Pacing around. Smoking outside the tent. Pacing around. Pacing around. Pacing around.

Easily, he smokes his way through his entire pack of cigarettes in the first few hours of his restless evening. He smokes his last one slowly and cherishes each puff before flicking the butt outside the tent. He has no idea what time it is, but looking outside into the darkness, he figures it's the dead middle of the night. He taps the face of his watch — which stopped ticking at 3:53 — and sighs inaudibly.

He leaves the tent to sit outside the entrance. He pulls his boots off to let his feet breathe. His socks are damp and their bottoms are dirty and stained dark brown from the sole inside his boots. His upper lip curls with disgust when he gets a draft of the odor inside his boots and he pushes them to the side before pressing the knuckles of his uninjured hand into the arches of his feet.

One knead at a time, he loosens the tendons and muscles of his feet. He peels his socks off and hangs them off his boots before crossing his ankles and leaning back on the heel of his hand. He puts his casted hand in his lap as he drops his head back and closes his eyes. His shoulders lower themselves with calmness and he lets out a slow exhale.

The hot African air has cooled to a comfortable temperature in the relief of the moonlight and Archer relishes in the twilight. He breathes evenly through his nose and listens to the sounds of quiet conversations and footsteps around the camp. A part of him feels at ease knowing he's not the only person still awake. The burden of responsibility isn't weighing down so heavily on his shoulders anymore.

Just as he feels the heaviness of sleep settling behind his eyes, he hears a rustling behind him. He snaps to an upright position before jumping to his feet. He's surprised and worried to see Maddy standing there leaning on a crutch.

"Barefoot?" she flashes a tired smile.

Archer's spine trembles. "You should be asleep, huh," he says, approaching her to put his fingers around the bend in her arm. "Get back inside."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I was just sitting."

Maddy's face breaks into a broad smile. "Just sitting to sit?"

Archer laughs quietly. Maddy sees the corners of his eyes wrinkle and her head swims. Archer moves his hand from her elbow to the side of her shoulder before speaking.

"You should lie back down, Maddy."

"I'm not going back into the tent unless you come too."

Archer nods. He replaces Maddy's crutch with his own body. Maddy curls her arm around his neck as Archer wraps his around her thin mid.

"One step at a time, huh."

She nods.

"I don't want you popping a stitch," Archer says as they enter the tent, step by step.

"I won't."

"If you do, I'll have to hear it from the doctor."

Maddy smirks. "I won't pop a stitch."

Archer nods this time.

"I see your hand is nice and fresh."

Archer looks down at his cast hand. "Ja, the doctor cleaned me up… gave me new stitches and everything."

Maddy winces. "You tore the others?"

Another nod. They approach the bed and Archer lowers Maddy carefully into her cot. He helps her put her leg back up and he adjusts the pillows underneath her calf. He pulls a thin blanket to her waist and then looks at Maddy's face. He can tell she's fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Go to sleep, huh Miss Bowen."

"You too," she says, closing her eyes. "Stay close."

He takes her hand and gives it an assuring squeeze. Maddy reciprocates weakly before falling back to sleep. Archer thinks about his boots outside the tent and considers going to get them before a spider or a scorpion makes them their home, but he decides against it. He pulls a stool over with his foot and sits down beside the cot, all without breaking his contact with Maddy's hand.

Archer sleeps sitting up and rouses the next day when he feels a hand on the back of his shoulder. He snaps awake and turns around. A nurse is smiling down at him with her kind, old face and milky eyes.

"Meesta Achah," she says in her thick accent. "Food."

"Ja, ja," his voice rumbles deeply with sleep. He licks his lips. "I'll get it on my own, huh."

The nurse motioned to Maddy, who was still fast asleep.

"I'm here with her, she's fine."

The nurse nods and shuffles out of the tent just as quietly as she entered. Archer yawns behind his cast and looks down at Maddy. He's surprised to see her big green eyes open and staring up at him. She gives his fingers a squeeze just enough to make Archer smirk.

"When did you wake up?"

"When the doctor came in to check on me earlier," she answers.

She adjusts her head on her pillow. Her beautiful brown hair is scattered behind her head like a dark halo and Archer feels his pulse quicken.

"When was that?"

"About an hour ago."

"You've been awake for an hour?"

She nods. "Why is that so hard for you to believe?"

He raises his shoulders.

"Now that you're awake, though, you can go get something to eat and something to drink."

"The hero can't fend for herself now, huh," Archer grins. He releases her hand slowly to stand up and stretch his shoulders back.

Maddy nods. "Every hero needs a sidekick."

Archer kisses the back of his teeth and shakes his head. "I'm not your sidekick, Miss Bowen."

"What shall I call you then, Archer? The soldier of fortune with a heart of gold?"

Archers turns to head out of the tent. "Ja, ja," he almost laughs. "Leaves a nice taste in your mouth, huh?"


	28. Chapter 28

"I can tear this right off, huh," Archer says.

He holds up a pair of pants provided for Maddy to change in to. Their press plane departs in less than an hour and they're getting ready to leave the UNICEF camp to return to New York. Maddy, who's sitting on the cot filling a canvas bag with her's and Archer's things, looks up at Archer with confusion.

"Tear what off?"

"This," he says, tugging on the right leg of the pants.

"Why would you do that, Archer?"

"Why not?" He frowns.

"I can wear normal pants, my leg isn't swollen."

He shakes his head. "It's better to keep the bandage out in the open, huh," he tells her.

"I'll just ask for a pair of shorts, then," Maddy tells him. "Put those down, I'm not going to let you tear apart a perfectly good pair of pants."

Archer tosses the article of clothing towards Maddy. She catches and folds them before putting them down beside her. She's been wearing nothing but a t-shirt and panties for the past few days, but neither she nor Archer seem to mind. Archer has been far too preoccupied acting as Maddy's crutch to look at her with anything other than concern in his eyes.

"Done packing that bag?"

Maddy peers inside and feels its contents as she goes through a mental check lists. Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds, pistol, diamonds, pistol, notebook, camera, pens, and more diamonds. She nods to Archer, who's taken to chewing on a piece of wood.

"You're going to splinter your tongue."

He dismisses her comment with a wave of his hand. He removes the wood from his mouth and spits to the side. "We can get going then, huh."

Another nod from Maddy sets Archer's feet in motion. He takes the bag and puts the strap over his shoulder before bending over to scoop Maddy up. She looks at him suddenly and puts a hand against his chest.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?" he cocks his brow.

"I'm not ready."

"Why not?" He stands up straight, arms hanging down by his sides.

"I'm not wearing pants, Archer!"

"So?"

"So? I'm not leaving this tent without pants."

"Why not?" He asks again.

"Because I like wearing pants when I go out," she says, cheeks tinting slightly red.

Archer shakes his head.

"Go and get me the nurse, Archer. I'll ask if there are shorts to wear, otherwise I'll just put these on."

She puts her hand down from Archer's chest to rest it on the folded pair of pants on the cot near her hip. Archer looks down at them and back up at Maddy. He shrugs the bag off his shoulder and returns it to its place on the cot before putting his piece of wood back between his teeth.

"Are you going to go get the nurse for me, Archer?"

He looks at Maddy for a moment and nods. "Ja, ja," he says absently as he turns and strolls out of the tent.

Gnawing on his branch still, Archer walks between tents looking around in search of the nurse who has been tending to Maddy for the past couple days. He finds himself inside a product tent before he finds the woman he's looking for. He scours the shelves of clothes and food stuffs until he finds a pile of khaki shorts. He scans the sizes and grabs the smallest pair for Maddy before leaving. He returns to her tent waving the shorts like a trophy.

Maddy's face lights up. "You found a pair!"

He nods and tosses them towards her. She picks them up and checks the label for the size before holding them up. Archer watches her examine them, and before she has a chance to stand on her own, he's in front of her with both hands extended for Maddy to grab.

"I've got this, huh," he says from behind the bark in his mouth.

"Will you spit that out, you're making me nervous," she frowns as Archer takes the shorts from her.

He spits the wood off to the side as he drops to one knee. "Feet up."

Maddy lifts her feet. Archer holds her ankles as he puts her feet through the shorts. He pulls them up to her knees before standing up to let Maddy hold his forearms to help her stand. Balancing herself on her good foot, she puts her hands on the top of Archer's head when he kneels back down. He pulls her shorts up completely and buttons them at her waist. He then grabs her shoes from underneath the cot and puts them on, lacing them up securely.

He lets his hand fall to the back of her thigh against her bandage. He tilts his head slightly to the side to press his lips against the thickest part of her bandage, where underneath, he knows her injury is. Maddy looks down at him with surprise when she feels the scratch of his bearded chin against her skin. She begins to run her fingers through his hair, but Archer is standing stiff and upright before the moment can develop into anything more intimate tha a superficial touch.

"A'right, Miss Bowen, you've got your pants."

She nods with a flustered smile on her face.

"We can go."

Another nod, and then quickly, "I can walk."

"Can you," he says with a scoff, stating more than asking.

"Yes I can," she motions to the two crutches propped against the side of her cot.

"Suit yourself."


	29. Chapter 29

The cool New York air feels grating inside Archer's nostrils. The breeze sends a chill up his spine as he and Maddy walk from the taxi cab to the revolving doors of her apartment building, but he doesn't let his discomfort show. He follows a few paces behind Maddy, watching her every move, making sure she stays upright. She's unsteady on her crutches and seeing her hobble along like an injured animal makes him feel both sorry and nervous for her.

"Home sweet home, huh," Archer remarks.

Maddy presses the button of the elevator and turns to face Archer. "Home sweet home," she nods.

"Is Solomon up there?"

She shakes her head. "He's up at a hotel a few blocks away," she tells him.

The elevator doors open and they both step in. Maddy lets Archer take her card to swipe to take them to her floor as she leans back against the wall.

"Do you want to go see him?"

Archer looks at Maddy as though her suggestion was in a different language. His mouth opens slightly with annoyance and his eyes narrow instantly. He shakes his head and disregards her comment with a scoff and an arrogant lift of his eyebrows.

"What business do I have with Solomon, huh?"

Maddy frowns at Archer's sudden change in demeanor. She knows she must tread lightly around him now. He doesn't like New York yet and the last thing she wants is for him to run back off to Africa. She knows that if he leaves again, she'll never be able to find him.

"He's your friend."

"Now, now, Miss Bowen," he holds his finger up. "Solomon is not my friend."

"He told you where that diamond was," she says quickly. "He did a lot for you!"

"I didn't need him to find it," Archer snaps.

"It was buried in the middle of the jungle, how would you have known where to even start looking without him?"

Archer's hand shoots up violently. "I would have found it on my own, a'right," he barks. "It's what I do, you understand?"

For a moment, Maddy forgets about her injury and steps towards Archer to continue with a passionate addition to her speech. The sudden weight on her shot leg causes her knees to buckle and she stumbles. Archer lunges forward and catches her frail body in his arms. She whimpers involuntarily as the pain surges up and down her spine like daggers. The sound is shrill to Archer's ears and he forgets about their little spat. He bends over slightly and scoops her up, holding her close to his body.

The elevator doors open and Archer grabs her crutches before stepping out. Her apartment is the same as when he left it last, except it's quieter and more lonely looking. He goes over to Maddy's couch and lowers her down carefully. When he scans her face over, he sees the wet streaks down her cheeks and he wipes them away with a flick of his thumb.

"That hero complex will kill you," he advises her with some satisfaction.

Maddy looks up at him and shakes her head. "I don't want to start arguing already."

Archer chews the inside of his cheek.

"The last thing I need is for you to get upset with me and shoot back to Africa."

He frowns superficially.

Maddy hiccups in an inhale before continuing. "Promise me you won't go back."

He drops the bag down beside the couch.

"Archer," Maddy says firmly. "Make me a promise right now that you won't go back."

Archer has never made a promise in his life. He's never even considered promising anything to anyone. Promises were worthless to him, they were hollow nothings that could be broken with such ease that it was almost laughable. He shakes his head and watches as Maddy's green eyes moisten with fresh tears.

"Archer," she says again, almost begging now. "I'm tired of this back and forth game!"

"Maddy," Archer speaks finally.

His voice leaves his lips a cadence lower than his usual tone and its texture frightens Maddy. His words rumble miserably in his throat as he shifts his weight from one leg to the other.

"What do you want from me, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you want from me? What do you think I have to offer someone like you, huh?"

Maddy is taken by his question and she has no reply for him. Her mind spins blank as she opens her mouth stupidly. She shakes her head and wipes her cheeks quickly.

"I love you, Archer," she manages after a long pause. "I want you to love me back."

Archer doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. The last person he heard those three stabbing words from was his mother two nights before she was raped and murdered. Her soothing voice raises behind his ears and Archer's throat tightens so much that he has to cough to compose himself. He blinks twice before raising his head slightly to look at Maddy down his nose. She's trying to decipher what's going on behind his hard eyes, but there's nothing there. He's just stoic and unmoved and Maddy is struggling.

"Why don't you love me back, Archer?"

He shakes his head. "Look at what I've put you through, Maddy," he spits tearfully. He clears his throat again. "I almost got you killed… twice!"

"You saved me each time," she responds. "You stayed with me each time."

"Stop making excuses for me, Maddy," he protests aggressively.

"I'm not making excuses for you," she chokes back another cry, "I know you're a good person!"

He shakes his head and turns around, his back to Maddy now. "I'm not a good person, Maddy."

"Then what are you doing here?" she asks, eyes fixed on the back of his head. "Why did you come to New York again? Why did you find me in Sierra Leone?"

He remains silent.

"What about when I was sleeping on the couch," she says slowly in a gentler voice. "And you came to sit near me. Would someone who wasn't a good person have done that?"

His heart pounds.

"Archer, please."

The urgent desperation in Maddy's voice strikes Archer's core like a hammer against a gong and his whole body tenses. He clenches his fists by his sides and turns around. Her cheeks are wet and red and she's blinking hurriedly in a shallow attempt to compose herself. She looks miserable, and it's all because of Archer's stubbornness, his refusal to surrender a part of himself to her.

"I'll get down on my knees if I have to," she cries.

"Maddy."

Archer's voice comes out in a husky whisper. His face softens and his muscles loosen and he steps forward. Relief washes over Maddy and she all but collapses into Archer's embrace. He wraps his strong arms around her small torso and buries his face against the soft of her neck. He cradles the back of her head in his hand and Maddy feels the cool wetness of a tear rolling down her collar bone. She can feel his shoulders trembling and she runs her fingers gently through his hair.

Several minutes pass before Archer pulls back. His eyes are red and watery and he licks his lips twice before leaning in close again. Cupping Maddy's cheek tenderly, he plants a kiss around the gash he gave her. He kisses her temple and her eyebrow and the bridge of her nose before stopping over her lips. Maddy's eyes are closed and her heart is in her throat and she nearly starts when she feels him finally kiss her on the mouth.


	30. Chapter 30 (final chapter)

The remainder of the day is snored and sighed away as Maddy and Archer sleep on the couch. With Maddy reclined against one armrest, Archer is dormant between her legs with his ankles crossed on the other armrest. His head rests on the inside of her thigh with Maddy's injured leg stretched over his shoulder and down his torso. Archer has fallen asleep with his hand on her shin and Maddy's fingers are still tucked in his thick mess of hair. They sleep intertwined with each other through the entire night, without disturbance, until the sunlight of the next morning begins filling the apartment.

Archer's eyes are the first to open. He wakes without unease or animosity coursing through him. He feels rested and comfortable and, when he registers his hand still on Maddy's tanned shin, happy. A smile chases across his lips as he turns his head slightly to kiss the inside of her thigh beneath her bandage.

The gentle friction of Archer's hair in Maddy's lap pulls her from her sleep and she looks down at him. She slides her fingers from his hair as he sits up just enough to look back at her over his shoulder. Maddy is smiling. Her eyes are white and open and her irises are as green as ever.

"Good morning," she says with a tired smile.

"Good morning, Miss Bowen."

"How did you sleep?" she laughs.

"Very well," he answers, moving his hand from her shin to her knee.

"I slept well too," she says quickly.

Archer is getting familiar with her sense of humor and he laughs, licking his bottom lip. "I was going to ask."

"Were you?"

He nods confidently and sits up more. He lifts Maddy's injured leg carefully to rest on his lap with her other leg as he leans back against the sofa properly. Maddy's looks at him with a sideways glance of calmness and Archer raises his eyebrows.

"You're still here," Maddy says.

He nods again.

"Will you be here tonight?"

A nod.

"And tomorrow?"

A nod.

"And the day after that?"

"Ja, Maddy, I will," he tells her with a gentle aggressiveness she hasn't heard in his voice before. "I will."

They fall into a comfortable silence that stretches across the morning. Archer makes Maddy breakfast — eggs and toast — and then helps her settle into a bath. While she soaks in the soapy water, Archer takes a shower. He scrubs himself hard and watches as the dirty water spirals down the drain. He's cautious of his cast, which Maddy wrapped in plastic from the doctor to keep it dry, and finishes quickly. He steps out and pulls a towel around his waist before looking at Maddy, who's grinning coyly as she looks him up at down.

Archer's tanned skin looks even darker inside the white bathroom. His color makes Maddy's olive skin seem pale. He fastens the towel more tightly around his waist and walks across the bathroom to sit on the edge of the bathtub. His hair is still dripping wet and flat against his head but Archer quickly runs his good hand through it. He shakes his head and Maddy squirms away to avoid the cool droplets.

"You're like a dog!"

He looks down at her as he dips his fingers into the water to flick some at Maddy. "It's only water, huh."

She smirks and nods. She repositions her heel against the edge of the bathtub, careful not to wet her bandage.

"There's more towels hanging up to dry your body with."

"Is it mandatory for me to use two towels now that I'm in America?"

Maddy laughs, shaking her head. "I was just letting you know."

"Ja, I'll make note," he taps his temple mockingly as he wipes the soap off his fingers on his towel.

"I was thinking of calling my lawyer later," Maddy says after a moment.

Archer raises his eyebrows to urge her to go on.

"To get those diamonds sold."

"Right," he nods his head.

"Isn't that what you want?"

"Ja, ja," he answers. "That was the plan, huh?"

"But is that what you want?"

Archer rolls his shoulders back and considers her question. Selling the diamonds seemed like the natural thing to do. What other purpose did he have for them? Keeping them wouldn't be beneficial to either of them. He tilts his head to the side in thought and then looks at Maddy's face. Her brows are slightly knitted, her lips in a tight line across her face.

"I'm sitting on a lot of money with those stones," he begins. "I know what they're worth, huh, I won't have some American in a nice suit try and cheat me out of money."

Maddy nods understandingly. "There won't be any cheating when we arrange a deal. You'll be compensated appropriately."

"Mm," Archer grunts in accordance.

"Then we can get your papers sorted out."

"Papers?"

"Passports and everything… make sure everything is in order."

He frowns at the sudden list of formalities he needs to deal with.

"We don't have to do it all today," she adds.

He raises his shoulders. "We might as well, huh."

"It seems like the logical thing to do," she says. "What are you going to do hauling around briefcases filled with money?"

Archer knows he'll be set for life with the money he'll receive from the diamonds. He knows that he'll never have to lift a finger for the rest of his life while still living comfortably. He could even take care of Maddy — the two of them would never have to work again.

"What's wrong?" Maddy asks, touching Archer's knee.

He shakes his head, alarmed to feel her hand on him. "Nothing."

"No, what are you thinking about, Archer?" Maddy fears that she's losing him again. "What's on your mind?"

"Let's not rush around the city while you're still limping around like a cripple, huh," he motions to her leg. "We've got nothing but time now."


End file.
